On World Refugee Day, IOC Refugee Olympic Team Chef de Mission Masomah Ali Zada has highlighted the important role of sport in supporting the integration of refugees and displaced people in their new communities. Herself a refugee, Ali Zada participated in a handball session of the Olympic Refuge Foundation’s Terrains d’Avenir programme, taking place in a sports centre close to the Olympic Village in Paris, just over a month before the Olympic Games begin. The programme reduces barriers to access and uses sport to help refugees build confidence and connections in their new community. Ali Zada claimed asylum in France after fleeing Afghanistan in 2016 and competed in cycling at Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team.
© 2024 - International Olympic Committee - All Rights Reserved. IOC Newsroom video news releases (IOC-VNRs) are the exclusive property of the IOC. They are made available to you for bona fide news reporting purposes only and all rights required for their production have been cleared. Terms and conditions of the IOC Newsroom and Olympics.com apply.
The IOC is a private, not-for-profit, international organisation recognized to be of public interest by the Swiss authorities and constituted in the form of a Swiss law association, having its registered office at Maison Olympique (Olympic House), 1007 Lausanne, Switzerland. The mission of the IOC is to promote Olympism throughout the world, to lead the Olympic Movement and to ensure the regular celebration of the Olympic Games.
© 2025 – International Olympic Committee – All Rights Reserved.