The announcement of thr IOC Refugee Olympic Team was made by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach at a ceremony broadcast live from the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland. The team will be making its third Olympic appearance, representing more than 100 million displaced people around the world.

"We welcome you all with open arms. You are an enrichment to our Olympic community and to our society. You'll demonstarte in Paris the human potential for resilience and excellence, and send a message of hope to the more than 100 million displaced people in the world. I encourage everyone to join us in cheering for you - the IOC Refugee Olympic Team," said Bach, addressing all the team members who had joined the meeting virtually. 

The composition of the team was approved by the IOC Executive Board (EB) on the basis of a number of criteria, including first each athlete's sporting ability and refugee status as verified by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The team is also representative of the more than 100 million displaced people around the world, with a balanced representation of sports, gender and country of origin.

The vast majority of the athletes were selected from among the refugee athletes supported by the IOC through the Refugee Athletes Scholarship Programme, funded by the IOC Olympic Solidarity Programme and managed by the Olympic Refugee Foundation. 

A total of 10 athletes competed for the Refugee Team at Rio 2016: James Chiengjiek, Yiech Biel, Paulo Lokoro, Yonas Kinde, Rose Lokonyen and Anjelina Lohalith in athletics, Popole Misenga and Yolande Mabika in judo and Rami Anis and Yusra Mardini in swimming. 

For Tokyo 2020, the number has increased to 26 athletes: Dorian Keletela, Rose Lokonyen, James Chiengjiek, Anjelina Lohalith, Paulo Amotun Lokoro, Jamal Eisa Mohammed and Tachlowini Gabriyesos in athletics, Aram Mahmoud in badminton, Wessam Salamana and Eldric Sella in boxing, Saeid Fazloula in canoeing, Masomah Ali Zada and Ahmad Wais in cycling, Muna Dahouk, Javad Mahjoub, Popole Misenga and Nigara Shaheen in judo, Wael Shueb and Hamoon Derafshipour in karate, Luna Solomon in shooting, Alaa Maso and Yusra Mardini in swimming, Kimia Alizadeh and Abdullah Sediqi in taekwondo, Cyrille Tchatchet II in weightlifting and Aker Al-Obaidi in wrestling.

The complete 44-athletes list for Paris 2024:

-Abere Kassw Belay (Ethiopia, athletics).

-Ahmad Alikaj (Syria, judo).

-Ahmad Badreddin Wais (Syria, cycling).

-Aker Al Obaidi (Syria, wrestling).

-Alaa Maso (Syria, swimming).

-Anjelina Nadai Lohalith (South Sudan, athletics).

-Aram Mahmoud (Syria, badminton).

-Charles Elijah Duol (South Sudan, athletics).

-Cyrille Fagat Tchatchet II (Cameroon, weightlifting).

-Dina Pouryounes Langeroudi (Iran, taekwondo).

-Dominic Lokolong Atiol (South Sudan, athletics).

-Dorian Keletela (Congo, athletics).

-Ehsan Naghibzadeh (Iran, taekwondo).

-Eldric Samuel Sella Rodriguez (Venezuela, boxing).

-Eyad Masoud (Syria, swimming).

-Farid Walizadeh (Afghanistan, boxing).

-Gaston Nsazumukiza (RD Congo, taekwondo).

-Habtom Amaniel (Eritrea, athletics).

-Hamoon Derafshipour (Iran, karate).

-Jamal Abdelmaji Eisa Mohammed (Sudan, athletics).

-James Chiengjiek Nyang (South Sudan, athletics).

-Javad Mahjoub (Iran, judo).

-John Lokibe Taban (South Sudan, athletics).

-Joseph Elia Ernesto (South Sudan, athletics).

-Josephina Tain Augustinho (South Sudan, athletics).

-Kasra Mehdipournejad (Iran, taekwondo).

-Kimia Alizadeh Zenozi (Iran, taekwondo).

-Luna Solomon (Eritrea, shooting).

-Mohammad Emami (Iran, taekowondo).

-Muna Dahouk (Syria, judo).

-Paulo Amotun Lokoro (South Sudan, athletics).

-Popole Misenga (RD Congo, judo).

-Rose Ihisa Karlo Uwaro (South Sudan, athletics).

-Rose Nathike Lokonyen (South Sudan, athletics).

-Saeid Fazloula (Iran, canoeing).

-Seyd Taha Ghafari (Iran, athletics).

-Simon Lodai Lohuju (South Sudan, athletics).

-Tesfay Felfele (Eritrea, athletics).

-Tachlowini Gabriyesos (Eritrea, athletics).

-Ubaa Dinta Achoto (South Sudan, athletics).

-Ukuk Utho’o Bul (South Sudan, athletics).

-Wael Fawaz Al-Farraj (Syria, taekwondo).

-Yiech Pur Biel (South Suda, athletics).

-Zohore Sajadi (Iran, shooting).

Refugee Olympic Team Chef de Mission Masomah Ali Zada, who competed for the Tokyo 2020 Refugee Olympic Team, welcomed the athletes: "You all had a dream and today your dream of competing at the Olympic Games is closer than ever. With all the challenges that you have faced, you now have the chance to inspire a new generation, to represent something bigger than yourselves and to show the world what refugees are capable of. I look forward to working with all of you to make this the experience of a lifetime. This will be your moment, enjoy it!" 

The vast majority of the athletes were selected from among the refugee athletes supported by the IOC through the Refugee Athletes Scholarship Programme, funded by the IOC Olympic Solidarity Programme and managed by the Olympic Refugee Foundation. 

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said: "The Refugee Olympic Team should remind us of the resilience, courage and hope of all those uprooted by war and persecution. These athletes represent what human beings can achieve, even in the face of extreme adversity. The team also reminds us that sport can be transformative for people whose lives have been disrupted in often harrowing circumstances. 

"Transformative not just for Olympians, but for everyone. Sport can provide a respite, an escape from everyday worries, a sense of security, and a moment of joy. It can give people a chance to heal physically and emotionally, and become part of a community again," he added. 

For the first time, the Refugee Olympic Team will compete under its own team emblem - a unifying symbol that brings together diverse athletes and gives the team its own unique identity. At the centre there is a heart, taken from the Olympic Refuge Foundation logo, to represent the togetherness that the team hopes to inspire and that athletes and displaced people around the world have found through sport. 

Ali Zada said: "This emblem brings us all together. We are all united by our experiences - we are all different, but we have all had a journey to get to where we are. The athletes do not represent a specific country, they represent the Refugee Olympic Team - having our own emblem creates a sense of belonging and empowers us to also stand for the population of over 100 million people who share the same experience. I can't wait to wear it proudly!"

Supporting refugees and displaced persons is a key priority for the IOC and is part of Recommendation 11 of the Olympic Agenda 2020+5. To build on this commitment, the Olympic Refugee Foundation (ORF) was established in 2017 to operate in place of a traditional National Olympic Committee and manage the refugee athlete scholarship holders and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team for Paris 2024. 

The ORF also works to provide access to safe sport for people affected by displacement around the world. Through partnerships and programmes across the globe, the ORF aims to build a movement where displaced people can enjoy the benefits of sport wherever they are, and where sport is embraced at all levels as a tool to support refugees. 

Since its launch in 2017, the ORF's work has resulted in nearly 400,000 young people gaining access to safe sport. More than 1,600 coaches have been trained to deliver safe sport sessions. The programmes have already supported young people in 11 countries across all continents.