KIGALI, 12th September, 2026 (WAM) -- As preparations for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) enter the final stretch, the first Olympic sporting event to be held on African soil is already delivering tangible benefits across the continent.
In a message to the SportsBiz Africa Forum held on 10 and 11 September in Kigali, Rwanda, IOC President Kirsty Coventry highlighted Dakar 2026 as a powerful force for skills development and social impact, while calling for stronger partnerships between sport, business, governments and communities.
The IOC President's message, delivered by IOC Member in Rwanda Félicité Rwemarika, highlighted the growing role of sport as a driver of economic and social development across Africa. Dakar 2026 was described as a powerful example of how major sports events can create lasting benefits long before the opening ceremony takes place.
“Dakar will be historic. But what excites me most is not only what will happen during those two weeks of competition. It is what is already happening because of the Games,” the IOC President said in her message.
Among the initiatives highlighted was the Dakar 2026 Learning Academy, through which hundreds of young professionals from Senegal and across Africa have received training in Games planning, sport and event operations, and other specialist areas.
Coventry’s message also highlighted Dakar 2026's Olympic values-based education programmes, which are aimed at reaching up to 900,000 young people across 11,000 schools in Senegal: This is what legacy means to me. Not only buildings, but people. Skills. Experience. Opportunities. And a new generation ready to take African sport forward.
Dakar 2026 will welcome around 2,700 athletes aged up to 17 from around the world from 31 October to 13 November. The programme will feature 25 competition sports and 10 engagement sports, with events and a wide programme of cultural and engagement activities taking place across eight venues in the three host sites.