Kenya made its debut at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne and has since become one of the most prominent nations among the Olympic athletics. The nation has participated in every Summer Olympic Games since then, with the exception of the 1976 Montreal and 1980 Moscow Games, which it boycotted along with several other African nations due to political reasons. Twenty-nine countries boycotted the 1976 Games due to the refusal of the IOC to ban New Zealand, after the New Zealand national rugby union team had toured South Africa earlier in 1976. On the occasion of the 1980 Boycotts initiated by the United States, Boxer Muhammad Ali traveled to Tanzania, Nigeria, and Senegal to unsuccessfully convince their leaders to join the boycott. He did, however, successfully convince the Kenyan government to do so.