The African nation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bedfordshire Olympic Opportunities Support Team (BOOST), who are responsible for bringing the benefit of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics to Bedfordshire.

The University is one of its key members of BOOST and the signed MoU means that the Ivory Coast Paralympic team will be coming to Bedfordshire, and particularly the University, for pre-London 2012 training.

Professor David Barrett, a senior member of BOOST, said: "This is the next successful step both for BOOST and the University in further engaging with the many opportunities which the London 2012 Games are bringing to our country."

The President of the Ivory Coast Paralympic Committee, Serge Pacome Trazie and the national powerlifting coach, Kouadio Jean-Batiste Kouassi toured the University as part of their recent five-day visit to this country and expressed the delight at securing the facility as their training base for the London 2012 Paralympics.

Trazie said: "It’s a very good university and it’s an internationally recognised place.

"I’m very jealous compared to what we have back in the Ivory Coast and I think it must be one of the best universities in England.

"As sports people, I can see real benefits for my country to train here.

"The sports science facilities here are fantastic and there are plenty of things to do for a visiting country.

"There are a wide range of diverse facilities for us to be based here, both socially and culturally."

The Ivory Coast made its debut in the Paralympics at Atlanta in 1996, when Oumar Basakoulba Kone (pictured) won gold medals in the 400 and 800 metres in the T42-46 category.

He retained his 800m title in Sydney four years later.

At the same Games Paul Fernand Kra Koffi won the silver medal in the 800m in the T12 cateogry.

But the country has not won a medal since.

Trazie and Kouassi’s trip to England also saw them visit the Olympic Park in Stratford as well as the Bedford International Athletics Stadium which will also be used for their pre-London 2012 training.

The pair also watched a rugby game at the Bedford Blues ground and visited various sporting and cultural centres in Luton such as the UK Centre for Carnival Arts.

The Ivory Coast are the fourth country to have toured the University following earlier visits by Rwanda, Bermuda and Papua New Guinea while a number of other countries have also expressed an interest in pre-Games training opportunities locally.

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