Refugee athletes given new pathways on the road to LA28
Ahead of World Refugee Day on 20 June, the Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF) has welcomed 17 new refugee athletes into training, with the hopes of competing at the LA28 Olympic Games. Hosted by eight different National Olympic Committees (NOCs) across nine different sports, this latest cohort reflects the growing commitment of the Olympic Movement to foster refugee inclusion through sport.
62 refugee athletes aiming for the Refugee Olympic Team
With these additions, the Refugee Athlete Support programme now supports a total of 62 athletes, competing across 14 different sports and hosted by 16 NOCs. Eighteen International Sports Federations (IFs) now allow for refugee athlete participation at their international competitions, and many host a refugee team in their World Championships.
Participation in the Refugee Athlete Support programme makes athletes eligible for inclusion in the Refugee Olympic Team at the Olympic Games. All athletes supported through the programme will receive funding through to LA28. 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.
The 17 athletes newly added to the programme are:
- Abolfazl Abbasipouya (Host NOC: Germany, Sport: Taekwondo)
- Ali Idow Hassan (Host NOC: France, Sport: Athletics)
- Arman Karapetyan (Host NOC: France, Sport: Wrestling)
- Ayda Khorshidi (Host NOC: United Kingdom, Sport: Taekwondo)
- Aysa Khorshidi (Host NOC: United Kingdom, Sport: Taekwondo)
- Clementine Meukeugni Noumbissi (Host NOC: United Kingdom, Sport: Weightlifting)
- Dario Lokoro (Host NOC: Kenya, Sport: Athletics)
- Edilio Francisco Centeno Nieves (Host NOC: Mexico, Sport: Shooting)
- Farhad Nourikhorjestan (Host NOC: United Kingdom, Sport: Wrestling)
- Fatemeh Keshavarz (Host NOC: United Kingdom, Sport: Weightlifting)
- Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez (Host NOC: United States of America, Sport: Canoe)
- Habiba Bayati (Host NOC: Sweden, Sport: Judo)
- Hannaneh Afshar (Host NOC: Brazil, Sport: Swimming)
- Marialejandra Coromoto Centeno Nieves (Host NOC: Mexico, Sport: Shooting)
- Mehdi Abedini (Host NOC: France, Sport: Taekwondo)
- Mohammad Ganjkhanlo (Host NOC: United Kingdom, Sport: Cycling)
- Tesfu Weldegebreal (Host NOC: United States of America, Sport: Athletics)
Continuing their sporting career
Today, over 117 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide. For many refugee athletes, displacement has taken away the pieces that anchor an elite athlete’s life, career and identity.
The Refugee Athlete Support programme, run by the Olympic Refuge Foundation and made possible through the support of NOCs and IFs, helps athletes rebuild those connections. Through this programme, and the Olympic Solidarity scholarships that enable it, the ORF supports refugee athletes to reconnect with their sporting community so that they can continue their journey.
The Refugee Olympic Team first competed at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and has since appeared at subsequent Games – at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. The ORF is preparing for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), where a Youth Refugee Olympic Team will compete for the first time. The Dakar 2026 YOG represent an opportunity not only to elevate young refugee athletes, but also to highlight Africa’s role in addressing global displacement and the IOC’s commitment to supporting refugees through solidarity and inclusion.
Founded by the IOC, the ORF adapts sport to meet the realities of humanitarian crises. When forced displacement strips away the routines, community and sense of belonging that hold a young person's life together, sport can help them regather and rebuild. The ORF works alongside local partners and coaches to create safe places and initiatives where young people can play, connect and find the stability they need.