“Following the proposal by World Athletics to introduce prize money for gold medal-winning athletes at the Paris Olympic Games, the ANOCA AC consulted with some athlete representatives in Africa.

Some athlete representatives expressed concern over the fairness of the proposal, which would result in only Gold medallists from one sport being rewarded for their achievements. Concerns were also raised on the topic of clean sport, as by increasing the incentive to win even higher, athletes may be at risk to rises of betting, manipulation or pressures to turn to doping.

The athlete representatives welcomed the idea of athletes being rewarded for their efforts and achievements as elite athletes; however, this should not come at the cost of the solidarity model which supports and develops athletes across all levels of the sport.

It is important to ensure that fair and balanced support is provided to athletes, which does not jeopardise the development of the sport at the grassroots level at the cost of rewarding those on the podium. The Olympic Solidarity funding model is fundamental in levelling the playing field for the rich and poor countries; this concept makes the Olympic Games so unique.

The ANOCA AC encourages NOCs, IFs and the IOC to keep athletes at the centre of any future conversations on this topic, and to continually support the development of solidarity programmes for all athletes.”