MADRID, 11 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Afghan Masomah Ali Zada, who competed in road cycling as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team at Tokyo 2020 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes Commission, has been named Chef de Mission of the Refugee Olympic Team for the Paris Games in 2024, as reported this Monday by the IOC.
The body chaired by Thomas Bach also noted that Ali Zada will be joined by Bernadette Castel-Hollingsworth, deputy director of the International Protection Division of UNHCR, the UN Refugee agency, as Deputy Head of Mission.
“I am delighted to welcome Masomah in her role as Head of Mission. Following her journey from leaving Afghanistan to competing in the Tokyo Olympics and now becoming leader of the Refugee Olympic Team, I can't think of anyone better to represent this team and the more than 110 million displaced people around the world,” celebrated Thomas Bach.
The German leader also welcomed Castel-Hollingsworth. “The IOC maintains a close collaboration with UNHCR, without which the Olympic Refugee Team would not be possible. Bernadette brings years of humanitarian experience to ensure that all athletes on the team receive the necessary support and protection required by their precarious situation,” he stressed.
The IOC stressed that Ali Zada was born in Afghanistan in a conservative community where girls were not encouraged to ride bicycles and that she became the target of threats when she and a group of women began competing. Despite the many barriers she faced, she persevered and eventually competed as a member of the Afghanistan women's national cycling team.
In 2017 she became a refugee and requested asylum in France. Shortly after, she received a scholarship for refugee athletes from the IOC, which was another step towards achieving her dream of competing in the Olympic Games. She is currently studying civil engineering at the University of Lille and was appointed to the IOC Athletes' Commission in July 2022.
“I am proud to be able to represent not only the athletes and the team, but also the more than 100 million displaced people around the world. In Paris, we have the opportunity to show the world what refugees are really capable of. and redefine the way the world sees us,” remarked Ali Zada, who succeeds Tegla Laroupe, Head of Mission for the first Olympic Refugee Team in Rio 2016 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Refugee Team.
In her role, the Afghan will act as spokesperson for the Olympic Refugee Team, ensuring that the best interests of all its members are met and that the platform provided by the Olympic Games serves to demonstrate the role that sport can play in building societies. inclusive and the enrichment that refugees can bring to different communities.