As part of its mission to make Paris2024 Olympic Games the most inclusive yet, the Organising Committee has chosen 13 more projects as part of its ‘Impact 2024 International’ initiative, that has already supported 45 projects in 19 African nations.

Organising Committee of Paris2024 Olympic Games has selected 13 more projects in 10 African countries as part of its ‘Impact 2024 International’, which is an initiative to make the upcoming games the most inclusive Olympics ever held.

In a press statement, the organisers say that launched in 2021, this programme has supported no fewer than 45 projects in 19 African countries, with an investment of EUR 1.4 million.

Since its launch in 2021, and through its four editions, the “Impact 2024 International” call for proposals has supported 45 projects implemented in 19 African countries, namely South Africa, Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Morocco, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia and Zambia with co-financing of EUR 1.4 million, an average of EUR 29,300 per project.

The statement adds that a total of 77,469 people have benefitted from these projects, 41 pc of them women and girls. The projects all go under the name “Impact 2024”, recognising their contribution to the legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The projects aim, in the main, to improve health, which is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3, promote equality between men and women as part of Sustainable Development Goal 5 and provide education Sustainable Development Goal 4. They are characterised by the variety of sports practiced, particularly team sports like football, volleyball and basketball, but also sailing, surfing, skateboarding, boxing, cycling and circus arts.

The organisers say that the call for proposals selection committee met in June 2023 to decide upon the winning projects of the fourth and latest edition of this call for proposals. Thirteen projects implemented in 10 countries have thus been selected, for a total investment of EUR 365,000.

The latest session was the opportunity to include an even more diverse range of sports, with surfing, BMX and circus arts. It has also provided the opportunity to place sport at the service of areas less targeted to date, such as professional integration, the fight against rural depopulation and environmental protection.

“With the Impact 2024 International programme, Paris 2024 has sought to reflect on the rest of the world its ambition to changes lives through sport. With more than 77,000 beneficiary projects linked to health, education, social integration, the environment and sport, and thanks to the work of the NGOs supported by the French Development Agency and Paris 2024, we hope to see the role of sport in society being increasingly recognised over the next few years,” says Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024 Organising Committee.

“I am delighted with the results of the four Impact 2024 International calls for proposals. The initiatives supported by the AFD and Paris 2024 are a perfect illustration of the way in which the international sports movement can be a catalyst for investment in sustainable development in Africa. As an extension of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, we are continuing this work, alongside the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Finance in Common coalition (FICS), to bring together those involved in sport and in developmental finance, to include sport in development and to include development in sport, in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals,’’ says Rémy Rioux, Chief Executive Officer of French Development Agency (AFD).