The Refugee Olympic Team is made up of 36 athletes from 11 different countries, who will represent refugees at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It compromises 23 male and 13 female athletes who will compete in 12 disciplines, and has 9 African athletes.
The boxer Cindy NGAMBA and the Ethiopian runner Farida ABAROGE are two of the women who are part of this African cohort, with athletes from the DRC, Eritrea, Cameroon, Sudan, and South Sudan.
They live in 15 countries (Kenya, US, Canada, Mexico, Jordan, Israel and 9 European countries) and will all participate in the march past led by Greece at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Games on 26 July.
These athletes are all beneficiaries of the IOC Olympic Solidarity Refugee Athletes’ Scholarship Programme. Given the millions of displaced people across the world, the Refugee Team was created by the IOC for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro to ensure athletes keep competing, even if they have been forced to leave their home countries.
Dr Thomas BACH, the IOC President stated:
‘‘This is something we must all commend. Besides all the performance, it’s the emotional value, sending this symbol of hope to the more than 100 million people who, unfortunately, had to migrate, and at the same time make people around the world aware of the magnitude of the refugee crisis. The presence of these elite athletes, representing more than 100 million refugees and migrants worldwide, should make them proud. They should also be delighted by this.’’
These athletes were shortlisted based on their sports performances. 36 of them were selected from a pool of 73 Refugee Olympic Scholarship beneficiaries ahead of the Paris 2024 OG. Their Olympic training will be organised in Bayeux, North of France.
For the ANOCA President Mustapha BERRAF,
‘‘This is an IOC initiative that reveals the humanitarian aspect of Olympic sports governance. Africa is well positioned with its 9 athletes, given the ever-increasing number of refugees worldwide.’’
