Two months before the start of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Organising Committee and the authorities of Senegal are strengthening mechanisms designed to protect the integrity of competition. The event will bring together 2,700 young athletes, many of whom will experience a major international multi-sport event for the first time in Dakar. In this context, preparation goes beyond training and sporting performance: it also includes providing tools to protect fair competition.
The approach involves different lines of action combining education, awareness, support and response capabilities. The Athlete Education Programme will address risks related to competition manipulation, betting, match-fixing and the use of inside information, while six ambassadors from the Believe in Sport initiative will have direct contact with athletes and teams throughout the Games. In addition, a Joint Integrity Unit (JIU) will coordinate prevention, detection and responses to potential situations that could affect sporting integrity.
Education to recognise competition risks
The Athlete Education Programme aims to ensure that young athletes arrive in Dakar not only prepared to compete, but also with a clearer understanding of situations that may arise around elite sport. Athletes and their team members will receive information on competition manipulation and the risks associated with betting, match-fixing and the exchange of inside information. The training is particularly focused on turning concepts that may seem distant into practical tools: recognising suspicious behaviour, assessing the consequences of certain decisions and knowing where to seek help when concerns arise.
This dimension is particularly important in a youth competition, where many participants are taking their first steps in a highly exposed sporting environment. The Dakar experience may also represent their first encounter with dynamics that extend beyond the court, field or pool, from third-party interest in obtaining information to pressures that can emerge around a competition. For this reason, integrity education is part of athlete preparation and not simply a protocol for dealing with potential violations.
Ambassadors and a coordinated response for Dakar 2026
The educational component will also have a dimension close to the athletes themselves through six ambassadors from the IOC’s Believe in Sport initiative. Coming from different parts of the world, they will interact with participants and their teams throughout the Games to address risks related to competition manipulation from a peer-to-peer perspective. Their experiences will complement formal information through conversations and interactive activities in which young athletes can face scenarios involving betting, competition manipulation or the exchange of inside information, considering what decisions to make and what consequences they may have.
Alongside prevention and education, Dakar 2026 will have a specific structure to respond to potential alerts. The Joint Integrity Unit (JIU) will bring together the IOC, the Dakar 2026 Organising Committee and Senegalese authorities, facilitating information sharing and coordinated action throughout the Games period. It is scheduled to operate from the opening of the Youth Olympic Village, on 27 October, until its closure on 13 November, following a model used at the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games since London 2012. The work of this unit will be supported by the Olympic Movement Unit on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions (OM PMC Unit), which will oversee efforts to prevent, detect and address potential cases involving competition manipulation.
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