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Refugee Olympic Team and Olympic Refuge Foundation

In 2015, the IOC created the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team (EOR) to give athletes who had been forced to leave their homes the chance to compete on the world’s largest sporting stage alongside their peers from the 206 National Olympic Committees. This was followed in 2017 by the launch of the Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF), to ensure that young people affected by displacement thrive through safe sport on a daily basis.

  • At Rio 2016, 10 refugee athletes competed as part of the Refugee Olympic Team across three sports. At Tokyo 2020, 29 athletes competed across 12 sports. At Paris 2024, a team of 37 athletes (24 male and 13 female), the largest to date, was selected to compete across 12 different sports.

  • Great Britain-based boxer, Cindy Ngamba, won the first-ever Olympic medal for the Refugee Olympic Team when she took bronze in the -75kg women’s category.

  • The team was led by a former refugee athlete – Masomah Ali Zada – as its Chef de Mission. The ORF acts as the NOC for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.

  • A Refugee Youth Olympic Team will make its debut at the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026.

  • The IOC’s decision to create a Refugee Olympic Team in Rio has inspired other sports event organisers and International Federations to include Refugee Teams in their own events. Sixteen IFs have amended their regulations and now allow refugee athletes to take part in their competitions.

  • Since the IOC created the ORF in 2017, its efforts have resulted in more than 925,000 young people affected by displacement having access to safe sport.

  • Since early 2021, the ORF has established new programmes in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Colombia, France, Jordan, Türkiye and Uganda. The ORF’s programme portfolio has directly engaged more than 190,000 displaced young people and their host communities in sport and sport for protection activities, with 17 programmes delivered in 12 countries.

  • The Multi-Stakeholder Pledge on Sport for Inclusion and Protection announced by the IOC at the UNHCR Global Refugee Forum in December 2023 committed USD 50 million to benefit over 800,000 people affected by displacement worldwide through sport by 2027.

What they have said

“Sport is a fantastic tool to improve the lives of refugees and to give them hope and a better future." - Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

“The Olympic experience has changed my life in many, many ways... And I'm just thrilled and I'm over the moon that I was able to get myself a medal and be the first-ever refugee to win a medal and show … all …humans and all the refugees all around the world, and every athlete, all around the world and to any… Federation, that we are just like any other athlete, and we aim … high.” – Cindy Ngamba (Refugee Olympic Team) Olympic bronze medallist, boxing

Olympic Agenda reforms highlights

Olympic Agenda Highlights

IOC Members meeting at the 144th Session in Greece celebrated the achievements of Olympic Agenda. In a series of presentations, the highlights of the Olympic Agenda reforms and their impacts on the IOC and the wider Olympic Movement were outlined. They included a 30-minute film showcasing the achievements of the reforms with powerful testimonials from individuals, personalities and organisations, all of whom have been positively impacted.