The thirteen young athletes set to represent Ghana at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, were formally unveiled on Tuesday at the University of Ghana Stadium, Legon, during a ceremony held under the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP).
The Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) engaged more than 100 schoolchildren at the event on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, in a programme designed to instil the Olympic ideals of excellence, friendship and respect in young people ahead of next month’s Games, the first edition of the Youth Olympics to be staged on African soil.
The programme is to teach the Olympic values of excellence, friendship, and respect to young people ahead of next month’s Youth Olympic Games in Dakar the first to be held on the continent.” Richard Akpokavie, President, Ghana Olympic Committee
The OVEP session also served as a platform for the schoolchildren in attendance to meet and interact with members of Team Ghana ahead of their departure for Dakar. The young Olympians used the occasion to share their personal stories, aspirations and reflections on what the Olympic spirit means to them, in exchanges that organisers described as lively and inspiring for the pupils drawn from various schools across the capital.
Speaking at the event, Mr Evans Yeboah, Chef de Mission for Team Ghana at Dakar 2026, expressed confidence that the contingent would return home with medals. He noted the historic significance of the Games being hosted on African soil for the first time and urged the young athletes to seize the opportunity to make their mark on the continental stage.
Officials and executives from several national sports federations were also present at the ceremony, underscoring the breadth of institutional support behind Team Ghana’s preparations for the Games.
Ghana’s contingent will compete across seven disciplines, boxing, athletics, swimming, table tennis, badminton, judo and taekwondo at a Games expected to draw 206 nations.
The 2026 Youth Olympic Games run from 31 October to 13 November, marking a landmark moment as the event makes its continental debut in West Africa.