Six Zambian athletes head to Dakar for the first Olympic Games held in Africa

Six Zambian athletes will compete at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, and the National Olympic Committee of Zambia has unveiled the kit they will wear. The kit was revealed at a send-off ceremony at the Senegalese Embassy in Lusaka on Sunday. The Games will bring together about 2,700 young athletes competing across 25 sports. Gibson Muyaule, acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts, described the Games as a major milestone for the continent, because Senegal becomes the first African country to host an Olympic event. He urged the athletes to represent Zambia with "pride, integrity, discipline, and excellence". ## What the Youth Olympics are The Youth Olympic Games are run by the International Olympic Committee for teenage athletes, and they work as a step between junior competition at home and senior international sport. For a Zambian teenager, selection means competing against the best in their age group from more than 200 countries, which is an experience that almost no domestic competition can provide. Dakar was awarded the Games some years ago and the event has been long anticipated across the continent, partly because travel and visa costs for African athletes are far lower than for a Games in Europe, Asia or the Americas. ## Why it matters A team of six is small, and that is the story as much as the send-off. Zambian sport outside football runs on thin budgets, and athletes in disciplines such as athletics, swimming, boxing and judo often train without full-time coaching or proper facilities. The ones who make it to a Games of this kind tend to be the few who found a club, a school programme or a private sponsor. Every Zambian athlete who performs well in Dakar strengthens the case for money to reach those clubs and school programmes, where the next group would have to come from. There is also a practical point for young people watching. Senegal hosting means an African city running an Olympic event, with the officials, vol