Twelve Refugee Athletes in Uganda selected to chase Youth Olympic dreams at Dakar 2026

14 November 2025 – Twelve young athletes in Uganda are joining the Refugee Athlete Support programme with the goal of qualifying for the Youth Refugee Olympic Team competing at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

KEY FACTS

• Six boys and six girls were selected after trials at Kampala’s Mandela National Stadium.
• One boy and one girl were selected in each of the eligible athletics disciplines for Dakar 2026 – 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m and 3,000m.
• All of them will now be supported through Youth Athlete Development Grants from Olympic Solidarity and mentored by Olympic medallist and Kenyan athletics legend Eliud Kipchoge.
• Participants in the trials were engaged through Game Connect – the Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF)-funded programme

Uganda hosts almost two million asylum seekers and refugees, mainly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.

The event in Kampala was preceded by trials in four refugee settlements in Uganda, with more than 600 young people taking part in Adjumani, Kyangwali and Rwamwanja, as well as Kampala. Participants were engaged through Game Connect – the ORF-funded programme –  marking the first time the ORF’s community work has been directly linked to elite pathways through its Refugee Athlete Support programme.

The trials were organised by the ORF in partnership with World Athletics, the Uganda Olympic Committee, Uganda Athletics and the Game Connect consortium. The trials in Uganda follow similar events held in Kenya earlier this year.

A WORLD-CALSS MENTOR

In collaboration with World Athletics, four-time Olympic medallist and Kenyan athletics legend Eliud Kipchoge will mentor the young athletes selected in Uganda and Kenya, encouraging them in their aim of reaching Dakar 2026. Having previously mentored the World Athletics Under-20 Refugee Team, Kipchoge will share his knowledge and discipline to motivate the team members.

AFRICA WELCOMES

The ORF is preparing for the Dakar 2026 YOG, where a Youth Refugee Olympic Team will compete for the first time. As these are the first YOG to be held on the African continent, the ORF is committed to ensuring the team is representative of displaced people on the continent.

Africa hosts more than 45 million forcibly displaced people, making the continent a focus of the ORF’s efforts to support young people affected by displacement through sport.

Through Olympic Solidarity’s Youth Athlete Development Grant, young refugee athletes will receive training and support in sports including athletics, judo, baseball 5 and taekwondo.

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.

 SUPPORTING DISPLACED PEOPLE ACROSS AFRICA

The ORF has been supporting displaced people across the African continent through sport for many years.

Currently, the Foundation is actively supporting programmes in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Kenya and Uganda. It has previously worked in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – reaching and supporting thousands of young people affected by displacement.

Since 2020, the ORF has been supporting the flagship Game Connect programme in partnership with a consortium of five Uganda-based organisations. The programme aims to improve the mental health and psychosocial resilience of young refugees and their host community peers, in Kampala and in refugee settlements across the country.