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Malika Surf
Malika Surf Camp in Senegal © Tala Niang / AFD
United in the conviction that sport is a tremendous accelerator of sustainable development, AFD and the International Olympic Committee have just joined forces to set a new course, characterized by three goals: legacy, sustainability and impact.

Rémy Rioux, AFD's Chief Executive Officer, and Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), have just signed a groundbreaking partnership accord to combine the energy of sport with development's capacity for change, notably via the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Signature IOC-AFD
© IOC/Greg Martin


The deal marks a new stage in the close ties between AFD and the Olympic movement, and builds on the AFD x Paris 2024 cooperation, the first partnership ever signed between a Public Development bank and an organization committee. 

Together, AFD and the IOC have pledged to:  

  • Co-finance and create synergies between initiatives that contribute to giving sport a greater role in the achievement of the SDGs
  • Give the sports movement greater capacity to contribute to sustainable development in and through sport 
  • Support the organization and lasting legacy of the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 
  • Support research and knowledge sharing on the contribution of sport to development
  • Conduct activities for communication, advocacy, and the mobilization of partners

The collaboration will kick off this year with concrete actions. The IOC, AFD and Paris 2024 had already launched the “Education and Sustainable Impact” program back in April. This program will support the most innovative projects among the winners of the “Impact 2024 International” initiative launched by AFD and Paris 2024. 

Watch the video: Sport: An Accelerator of Sustainable Development

AFD and the IOC also wish to work on two programs to support social innovation through sport: one focuses on access to education and youth employability in Africa, and the other on the prevention of juvenile delinquency in Asia.

These programs, which form part of the IOC’s Olympism365 strategy, will finance and strengthen the capacities of civil society organizations working on these issues. A comprehensive evaluation of these two programs will be conducted, with the aim of getting public policies to take on board these approaches.