Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games: "Sport is not just a competition, it's a school" (Issa Mboup, Vice-President of the CNOSS)

At the ECOWAS Youth Camp, held in preparation for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, the Vice-President of the Senegalese National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSS) emphasized the educational value of sport. According to Issa Mboup, beyond performance and competition, sport forges discipline, teaches resilience in defeat, humility in victory, and develops teamwork. These are all essential values for building an engaged and united West African youth.

With the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games approaching, ECOWAS and the Senegalese National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSS) want to make the event much more than just a sporting competition. Through a regional youth camp, the two institutions intend to mobilize young people around the themes of peace, citizenship, leadership, and regional integration.

The Youth Olympic Games are now intended not only as a sporting event, but also as a powerful tool for integrating West African youth. Within the framework of the cooperation agreement between ECOWAS and the CNOSS, a youth camp brings together young leaders from the community to discuss Olympic values and the major challenges facing the region.

The initiative aims to raise participants' awareness of issues of citizenship, peace, and security, as well as to strengthen their leadership, communication, and community engagement skills. It also seeks to promote environmental protection and sustainable development through the Olympic Values Education Programme.

"You are the future builders of West Africa."

Representing the president of the CNOSS, Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye, Vice-President Issa Mboup emphasized the significance of this meeting. According to him, the young people gathered are not merely participants in a sporting activity, but "the women and men who will write the next chapter in the history of West Africa."

“Sport is not just a competition; it’s a school. It teaches discipline when no one is watching. It teaches respect when you lose. It teaches humility when you win. It develops team spirit. It teaches you to overcome differences in language, culture, religion, and origin. There are many participants who do not share the same language, origin, or culture, but this session, which is so similar to ours, will be a link to refresh and bring the relationships between the participants closer together,” he said.

For Mr. Mboup, this philosophy must guide the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, so that the Games become an event shared by all of West Africa. Senegal will host this competition from October 31 to November 13, 2026, a first for the African continent.

Beyond the logistical organization of the Youth Olympic Games, the emphasis is placed on their human and social legacy. "We would gain nothing" if the Youth Olympic Games did not leave behind, after they have taken place, young people who are better trained, more engaged, and capable of leading new regional projects, stressed Issa Mboup.

The aim is to create a network of young ambassadors for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in the ECOWAS member states. These young people will be called upon to promote Olympic values, peace, solidarity, and integration within their communities.

This vision aligns with that of the CNOSS in its preparation for the Youth Olympic Games, which notably combines sporting, civic and environmental dimensions.

Pape Momar Sow, Chief of Staff to the ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Professor Fatou Sow Sarr, emphasized the need to place youth at the heart of the community project. He noted that young people represent the majority of the West African population and, as such, constitute a crucial driver for development and regional integration.

According to him, ECOWAS must allow these young people to transcend national logics in order to build a stronger community capable of better utilizing its human and economic potential.

He also emphasized the crucial role of young people in peacebuilding. Faced with conflict, violence, insecurity, and the risk of manipulation, youth can be either a destabilizing factor or a major player in peace and social cohesion.

"Nothing can be built without peace."

The representative of the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mouhamadou Sène, also advocated for increased involvement of young people in the design, implementation and evaluation of public policies intended for them.

He stressed the need to capitalize on Africa's "demographic dividend" and to view youth as a strength, not a constraint. For him, human capital, and particularly youth capital, must be placed at the heart of development policies.

Mouhamadou Sène also warned against the risks of manipulation to which young people can be exposed, particularly in contexts of crisis and instability. He urged them to assume their dual responsibility: to consolidate peace today and to prepare the next generation for the future.

At the end of this dynamic, the organizers aim to see the emergence of a regional network of young ambassadors and the adoption of an ECOWAS youth declaration in favor of peace, regional integration and Olympic values.