Team of REFUGEES to compete at Olympics as officials urge camps to pick out competitors
A TEAM of refugees will be allowed to compete at the Rio Olympics this summer after officials gave the go ahead.
Refugees set to compete at Rio Olympics
The International Olympic Committee found 43 refugee athletes who could compete at the games in Rio de Janeiro which take place between August 5-21.
IOC President Thomas Bach said the final number of athletes has not yet been decided but he believes it could be as many as 10 refugees.
The games are set to take place this August
He said: “The final number of athletes that would make up this team depends on qualification criteria.
“I can just give you my feeling but I believe that this team could feature between five and 10 athletes.”
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The IOC believe ten refugees could perform
The budding athletes could include a Syrian swimmer in Germany, a judoka from the Democratic Republic of Congo based in Brazil and a taekwondo athlete from Iran living in Belgium.
Mr Bach added: “We have all been touched by the magnitude of this refugee crisis. By welcoming this team, we want to send a message of hope to all the refugees in the world.”
The Olympic committee has already donated £1.4 million to help refugees and called on camps to pick out any top-level international competitors.
The IOC President said they will check the eligibility of all athletes who apply to take part in the summer games.
Around only half of tickets have been sold
The final team will be announced in June and the IOC will kit out competitors in ahead of the games.
But Mr Bach reiterated that refugees will be treated like all other competitors will live in the Olympic Village.
So far, fewer than half of the 7.5 million tickets issued for Rio 2016 have been sold.