Eritrea × The Olympic Movement
Solidarity
in motion
Turning international cooperation into athlete pathways, stronger coaching, safer preparation and wider opportunity—from Eritrea’s Olympic beginnings to the road ahead.
A partnership with purpose
Opportunity must reach the field
Olympic Solidarity is the IOC’s worldwide support system for National Olympic Committees. Its purpose is practical: help athletes prepare, develop coaches and sports administrators, strengthen national structures and carry Olympic values into communities.
For Eritrea, the most meaningful measure is not a funding headline. It is the pathway created when international resources, EriNOC coordination and federation expertise reach a young cyclist, an emerging runner, a coach or a women’s development programme.
Athletes
Preparation, competition access, health, nutrition and travel.
Coaches
Technical learning that multiplies across teams and generations.
Capacity
Stronger NOC and federation systems behind every performance.
Values
Clean sport, inclusion, safeguarding and education through sport.
How solidarity works
From global resources to local results
The programme works as a chain of responsibility. Each link matters: international funding, national coordination, technical delivery, athlete services and accountable competition outcomes.
IOC resources
Olympic revenues are channelled into development programmes for NOCs.
EriNOC planning
National priorities identify athletes, coaches and systems with the greatest potential.
Expert partners
International Federations and training centres add technical expertise and facilities.
Daily support
Training, equipment, medical care, nutrition, travel and education reach participants.
Lasting impact
Better-prepared athletes and coaches strengthen Eritrean sport beyond one event.
An official national pathway
Milestones in Eritrea’s Olympic cooperation
The global foundation
International Olympic aid began in 1961 and developed into Olympic Solidarity in the early 1970s, creating a structured mechanism to support National Olympic Committees.
Eritrea joins the Movement
Recognition of the Eritrean National Olympic Committee connected Eritrea formally to the IOC-led Olympic Movement and its development framework.
First Olympic delegation
Eritrea competed at Sydney 2000, opening a national Olympic participation story that has since included athletics, cycling, swimming and youth events.
Table tennis system building
Olympic Solidarity and the ITTF supported an ITTF/PTT Level One course and youth camp in Asmara, including coaching, practical accreditation and Para table-tennis awareness.
Institutional strategy
EriNOC’s four-year strategic plan placed management capacity and athlete performance on parallel tracks, strengthening how national priorities connect with international programmes.
Women’s performance pathway
Six young Eritrean women completed 45 days of advanced altitude training in Kenya through an EriNOC programme linked to qualification goals for major continental and global championships.
A Paris scholarship pathway
IOC reporting confirmed that Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay received Olympic Solidarity assistance as a scholarship-holder for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Coaches and grassroots
An Olympic Solidarity-supported FIVB Level I course trained 32 participants in Asmara, while a national table-tennis camp joined Olympic Values education with technical training for 34 under-15 players.
The road to Dakar
Youth Athlete Development support is helping cyclist Sirak Bereket Libsekal and runner Kanari Teklemariam Estifanos prepare for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
Youth athlete development
Road to Dakar 2026
EriNOC’s documented Dakar pathway shows Olympic Solidarity at its most concrete: young athletes receive targeted support that connects daily preparation with continental competition and Olympic ambition.
Preparation with purpose
Sirak Bereket Libsekal
Support has covered tactical development, sprint finishes, cornering, climbing and bicycle maintenance. At the 2025 African Youth Games in Angola, he earned time-trial bronze and placed seventh in the road race.
Kanari Teklemariam Estifanos
The junior 800m champion received support spanning meals, sportswear, training, recovery techniques and anti-doping education. She won gold at the 2025 East and Central African Junior Athletics Championships in Tanzania.
Cooperation in action
From scholarships to national skills
These documented programmes show how cooperation reaches different levels of Eritrean sport: elite athletes, national coaches, federation structures, women’s development and children encountering Olympic Values for the first time.
Building table-tennis coaching capacity
An ITTF/PTT Level One course in Asmara brought together 20 participants—16 men and four women—from six zones. A parallel camp served 13 players aged six to 16, while inclusive practical sessions introduced Para table-tennis support and athlete care.
Biniam Girmay: elite preparation recognised
The IOC confirmed that Eritrean cycling star Biniam Girmay received Olympic Solidarity assistance as a Paris 2024 scholarship-holder—connecting high-performance preparation with Eritrea’s Olympic representation.
32 coaches and practitioners in Asmara
From 1–5 April 2025, an FIVB Coaches Course Level I was delivered in Asmara with Olympic Solidarity support. The Eritrean federation organised the five-day programme for 32 participants.
Olympic Values across all six regions
A ten-day camp united 34 under-15 players—17 girls and 17 boys—from Eritrea’s six regions. Morning Olympic Values education was followed by technical sessions and a closing competition.
Two young athletes on the road to Dakar
Support for Sirak and Kanari reaches training, coaching, medical, nutrition and travel needs—turning Youth Olympic participation into a structured development pathway.
Capacity that multiplies
High-performance opportunity
In November 2023, EriNOC sent six female athletes aged 17–21 to Kenya’s Kipchoge Keino High Performance Training Centre for 45 days of advanced altitude training.
The programme paired endurance development with anti-doping, nutrition, mental-health and reproductive-health education—an example of athlete preparation treated as a complete system rather than a single training block.
The wider framework
$650m
IOC development and assistance plan
The IOC approved a record USD 650 million Olympic Solidarity budget for 2025–2028—10 per cent above the previous cycle—with increased direct athlete support. The framework is funded from the National Olympic Committees’ share of Olympic broadcast-rights revenue.
LA28 athlete scholarships
Individual-sport athletes with realistic international qualification potential may be proposed through their NOC for training and competition support.
Technical courses and coach education
NOCs can work with International Federations to strengthen national coaching knowledge, officials and the wider athlete entourage.
National sport-system development
Structured projects can support federation planning, management capacity and sustainable pathways from grassroots participation to high performance.
Verified record
Read the sources
IOCAfrican cycling and Biniam Girmay’s Paris 2024 scholarship support
ITTFEritrea: another step forward—Olympic Solidarity course and camp
FIVBOlympic Solidarity-supported Level I coaches course in Asmara
World AthleticsEritrea’s programme to empower female athletes
EriNOCOlympic Values and table-tennis skills for young athletes
EriNOCPutting young Eritrean athletes on the road to Dakar 2026