National Olympic Committees and other international federations will be boosted with a $150 million fund from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The support fund was announced on Wednesday following a meeting by the by the IOC Executive Board.
This adds to the $100 million that the IOC has supported the National Olympic Committees and International Federations with since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.
IOC President Thomas Bach said the body is committed to supporting federations which are going through hardships due to the pandemic.
“The Olympic Movement is facing an unprecedented challenge. The IOC has to organise postponed Olympic Games for the first time ever, and has to help its stakeholders come through this global crisis,” Bach said.
“This new situation will need all our solidarity, creativity, determination and flexibility. We shall all need to make sacrifices and compromises.
“Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures. This situation requires every one of us to do our part, and this applies to all of us, including the IOC. We are glad to be able to help with our support programmes.”
Meanwhile, the IOC has also postponed the Dakar Youth Olympic Games, initially scheduled for 2022, to 2026.
This follows a discussion between the IOC and hosts Senegal, after which an agreement was reached.
“The IOC and Senegal understand that this news will be disappointing for many young athletes. Both parties can only appeal to their understanding. This agreement results from the large scale of the operational challenges which the IOC, the NOCs and the IFs are facing following the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” a statement from the IOC said.
“With this in mind, the IOC will continue to offer all IFs and NOC Continental Associations the full content of the educational programmes of the Youth Olympic Games.”
This comes after the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo was also postponed to 2021 as a result of the global health crisis.
