Refugees will have a spot in Rio Games
Olympic officials have identified 43 candidates for a team of refugee athletes who will compete in the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro in a “message of hope” for millions of refugees around the world, the IOC said Wednesday.
IOC President Thomas Bach said he expects between five and 10 athletes to be selected for a team that will compete under the Olympic flag as “Team Refugee Olympic Athletes.”
“By welcoming this team of refugee athletes to Rio, we want to send a message of hope for all refugees of the world,” Bach said at the close of a two-day IOC executive board meeting in Lausanne.
The IOC said in December that three potential Olympic athletes had been identified from among the wave of refugees and migrants from Syria and other troubled regions coming into Europe.
The IOC already had pledged $2 million to help refugees, and asked authorities in refugee camps to identify any top-level international athletes.
Bach said candidates for the Olympic team will be checked for their eligibility, nationality and refugee status.
On a day when Rio organizers provided reassurances over the Zika outbreak, venue delays, doping legislation, metro construction and other issues, Rio organizing committee spokesman Mario Andrada said only about 47 percent of the 7.5 million tickets on offer have been sold.