The six-member Refugee Olympic Team pictured at a training camp in Eldoret, Kenya, ahead of the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal. © UNHCR/Charity Nzomo
DAKAR – Six young refugee athletes are set to make history as the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team to compete at the Youth Olympic Games, taking place from tomorrow in Dakar, Senegal.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, welcomes this historic milestone, which demonstrates the power of sport to change lives and create opportunities for young people forced to flee, and comes a decade after the first Refugee Olympic Team competed at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
From 31 October to 13 November, six young refugee athletes – three young women and three young men, all based in Africa – will compete in athletics, judo and taekwondo alongside some 2,700 young athletes from around the world. Their participation represents the hopes and ambitions of millions of young refugees whose lives have been turned upside down by conflict and displacement. The Games will be the first Olympic event ever held on the African continent.
“Dakar 2026 is a moment of pride for Africa and for every person who has been forced to flee, and particularly profound for young people forced into displacement,” said UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Edem Wosornu, who is in Dakar for the opening of the Games. “These six young athletes are showing the world what refugees can achieve when they are given a chance. Sport creates opportunities, provides a sense of belonging and helps young refugees recover, rebuild their lives and reach their potential. But these opportunities must not end when the Games close. We must ensure that more young refugees have the chance to learn, compete and thrive.”
The team is led by Chef de Mission, Yiech Pur Biel, a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and refugee from South Sudan who competed as part of the first Refugee Olympic Team at Rio 2016.
“Ten years ago, I stood on the Olympic stage as a refugee athlete. Today, seeing a new generation of young refugees follow that same path is incredibly special,” said Biel. “These young athletes have overcome enormous challenges to be here. They are not just competing for medals; they are showing other young refugees that their dreams are possible, no matter where they come from or what they have been through.”
The team was created by the International Olympic Committee and is managed by the Olympic Refuge Foundation, with the support of World Athletics, the National Olympic Committees of Kenya and Uganda, and UNHCR. The young athletes are also receiving mentoring from two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge.
Their participation comes at a time when more than 117 million people remain forcibly displaced worldwide, including 39 million in sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly a third of those displaced on the continent are refugees and asylum-seekers, and around half are children.
As attention turns to Dakar, UNHCR calls on governments, sports bodies, the private sector and donors to expand young refugees’ access to sport, education and other opportunities, so that their talent and ambition can continue to flourish long after Dakar 2026.
Notes to editors
The members of the Dakar 2026 Refugee Olympic Team will be:
- Arno (living in Kenya, Sport: Judo, -55kg men)
- Clement (living in Kenya, Sport: Athletics, 800m men)
- Florence (living in Uganda, Sport: Athletics, 200m women)
- Lourance (living in Kenya, Sport: Taekwondo, -49kg women)
- Nyataba (living in Kenya, Sport: Athletics, 800m women)
- Rachid (living in Uganda, Sport: Athletics, 200m men)
For more information, please contact:
- In Dakar (regional), Fidelia Bohissou, bohissou@unhcr.org, +221 77 569 91 60
- In Nairobi (regional) Faith Kasina, kasina@unhcr.org, +254 113 427 094
- In Geneva, Eujin Byun, byun@unhcr.org, +41 79 747 87 19
