The African Olympic Committee advocates the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Paris Olympics, arguing that “politics should not put pressure on sport and deprive it of all its values.”

Olympic GamesPhoto: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP / Profimedia

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Africa, for the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus at the 2024 Olympics in Paris

The decision to support was announced after a meeting of the executive committee of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) from Nouakchott (Mauritania), reports AFP.

“The members unanimously expressed their support for the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in all international competitions.

Thus, it will be about allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in conditions of complete neutrality, without any signs of identity, at the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024,” the press release said, according to News.ro.

The African Olympic Committees therefore join the position of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and join the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), which in late January proposed to integrate these athletes into its regional competitions such as the Asian Games. , expressing his support for the CIO’s position.

At the end of January, the Olympic organization outlined a road map for the reintegration of Russians and Belarusians, excluded from world sports after the invasion of Ukraine, under a neutral flag, on the condition that they “did not actively support the war in Ukraine.” “.

“No athlete should be excluded from competitions only on the basis of a passport,” the head of the IOC assured.

This is also the opinion of ANOCA (African National Olympic Committee), which “has given its consent to confirm that politics should not pressure sport and deprive it of all the noble values ​​that revolve around peace, unity and solidarity”.

The proposal of the IOC regarding the reintegration of Russians and Belarusians is far from unanimous.

Ukraine opposes the presence of Russian and Belarusian athletes in Paris, including under a neutral flag, and even threatened to boycott the competition.

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