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Refugee athletes given a path to LA28 and beyond through Olympic scholarships

Release Date: 20 Jun 2025
Refugee athletes given a path to LA28 and beyond through Olympic scholarships

20 June 2025 - On World Refugee Day, the Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF) has announced the 47 refugee athletes who are receiving Olympic Solidarity scholarships. For those eligible, this is a first step in their journey to take part in LA28.

This year’s announcement also marks an important milestone: for the first time, youth athletes have been included in the programme, and will receive Youth Athlete Development Grants with the aim of forming a Refugee Youth Olympic Team for the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026. More than 30 young athletes are already receiving this support.

Hosted by 13 different National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and competing in 15 different sports, the scholarship-holders have joined the Refugee Athlete Support Programme, which will help them train and compete at the highest level.

The Refugee Athlete Support programme is run by the Olympic Refuge Foundation. The Refugee Athlete scholarships make athletes eligible for inclusion in the Refugee Olympic Team at Olympic and Youth Olympic Games. To benefit from the programme, athletes must be elite competitors in their respective sport and be refugees in their host country, recognised by UNCHR, the UN Refugee Agency. Further scholarships will be awarded and announced on an ongoing basis.

From medalists to new sports

The ORF works closely with all 13 host NOCs to ensure that refugee athletes are well supported to continue their training and preparation in their host country. Further to this, collaboration with International Federations (IFs) is crucial to ensure athletes have the opportunity to compete at the highest level of international competitions. 17 Federations now allow for refugee athlete participation at their international competitions, and many host a refugee team in their World Championships.

Among the 47 newly announced scholarship holders are:

  • Cindy Ngamba, boxer and the first-ever medalist of the Refugee Olympic Team at Paris 2024;
  • Ramiro Mora, weightlifter who earned an Olympic Diploma in the 102kg category at Paris 2024;
  • Farida Abaroge, a former karateka turned 1500m runner who carried the flag for the Refugee Olympic Team at the Paris 2024 Closing Ceremony;
  • Matin Ghalami, the first squash athlete accepted to the programme, a sport which will make its Olympic debut at LA 28
  • Afraa Mohammad, a stateless refugee and the programme’s first sport climbing athlete.

Looking Ahead: Dakar 2026

The ORF has also announced the inclusion of youth refugee athletes who will be supported through Olympic Solidarity’s Youth Athlete Development Grant, with the aim to compete at the Youth Olympic Games. Dakar 2026 will be the first Youth Olympic Games to be held on the African continent, and a significant milestone in the IOC’s commitment to supporting refugees through sport.

They will receive training and support in sports including athletics, judo, Baseball 5 and taekwondo, with a strong focus on African representation. Africa hosts more than 47 million displaced people, making the continent a focus of the ORF’s efforts to support refugees through sport.

The Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 represent an opportunity not only to elevate young refugee athletes, but to highlight Africa’s role in addressing global displacement and the IOC’s commitment to supporting refugees through solidarity and inclusion.

Solidarity through sport

Today, over 120 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide. World Refugee Day honours the strength and resilience of those forced to flee their home country due to conflict, disaster or persecution. This year’s theme “solidarity with refugees” calls for action to ensure they are supported and given opportunities to thrive in their new communities.

In the context of ever-growing numbers of people forced to flee their homes, sport offers hope and an opportunity to heal. This was the very idea that led IOC President Thomas Bach to announce the creation of the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team in 2015 at the United Nations General Assembly. Since the debut of the Refugee Olympic Team at Rio 2016, the initiative has grown. Managed by the ORF, the Refugee Athlete Support programme has to date supported 102 refugee athletes through Olympic Solidarity scholarships.

The 47 Athletes are:

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