After a landmark decision to allow a refugee team at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) President Christopher Samuda says they are willing to offer assistance to help in their preparation for the event.

The decision was made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last Thursday to mark the first time an Olympic event will be held in an African country. This follows the participation of a refugee team made up of 37 athletes at the Paris Olympics last summer.

The refugee team will consist of athletes based in the continent with the exact composition and selection for Dakar 2026 set to be determined at a later date, and will once again be decided by the IOC Executive Board.

The IOC says it’s hoping that the decision will bring worldwide attention to the reality of Africa hosting nearly 48 million people out of the 120 million displaced globally.

Jamaica is expected to compete at the Youth Olympic Games and Samuda, who helped oversee the team’s last appearance in 2018, told the Jamaica Observer that they stand ready to support their African partners.

“The Jamaica Olympic Association is driven by Olympic principles and values of humanity and will always embrace efforts of inclusion in supporting the aspirations of refugees. It is man’s humanity and civility to man, and sport, I have always maintained, is not an event but must be an experience of concord and brotherhood,” he said.

“It is integrating and not alienating, accommodating the training of refugees in disciplines of sport in our space, providing an emotional shelter in our sporting homes, and restoring that connectedness that they have lost in being displaced. The JOA in that context is open for business,” Samuda added.

Samuda, who has served as JOA president since 2017, believes the inclusion of a refugee team can make a huge impact in changing lives through sports.

“[It’s] welcoming and encouraging of the aspirations of youth in sport, who should not have their dreams dashed and be buried on the stake of social and political indiscretion. Sport is not played on battlefields. Sport is not an artillery exercise but a routine regime that sportsmen and women undertake in nurturing their talent and honing their skills in self-affirmation and in bringing glory to their country,” he said.

“Sport must provide a refuge to youthful talent where they can shelter and renew their hope in a world that provides inspiring opportunities…and not a world that engenders nightmares of exclusion and disillusionment.”

Though he won’t be in office in 2026, outgoing IOC President Thomas Bach says he’s excited to see the team in Dakar.

“We look forward to assembling a team that will not only highlight the global displacement and refugee crisis, but also underline the importance of bringing together the best young athletes in the spirit of Olympism at an inclusive Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026,” Bach said.

Several years ago, The IOC gave access to sport for thousands of African youth through its Olympic Refuge Foundation, which has active programmes in Kenya, Uganda, Burkina Faso and Burundi.