Roy Colebrook, one of the BOC's vice-presidents, will head the Commission, which will be responsible for assisting athletes as they prepare for a return to sport.

BOC President Rommel Knowles, speaking to The Tribune, said: "The commission will be in direct contact with athletes who are Olympic bound and their Federations to see what assistance they require.

"We know that the majority of athletes will be looking for financial assistance and for those athletes that do, we will assist as best as we can.

"But we also know that some of the athletes might need physiological training to get through this pandemic.

"Some might just need someone to talk to.

"Maybe they might need to speak to a fitness expert to ensure that they are staying fit.

"Whatever the needs are from the Welfare Commission, we want to be able to be there for them."

There will be a vetting process for those to join Colebrook on the Athletes' Welfare Commission, with a formal announcement to be made when the BOC has made the appointments.

Colebrook has twice been the nation's Chef de Mission at the Olympics, holding the post at London 2012 and Rio 2016 as well as at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

The businessman is also the President of the Bahamas Cycling Federation.

Colebrook added: "The Commission will be formed to assist the athletes in those tough times.

"What we plan to do with the Athletes' Commission is to form the bylaws as it pertains to the assistance that we will be able to give to the athletes.

"I want to encourage the athletes to stay safe and just remember that this pandemic will not last forever.

"This pandemic will last for a while, but the athletes have to stay focused and stay committed to their training because when we come out of this, everything will be on.

"So we want our athletes to stay focused and committed to their training.

"We will get through this and the BOC want to make sure that they are there to lend them a helping hand in the process."