Sport and Forced Displacement:Exploring the Journeys of the 2020 Refugee Olympic Team Candidates

Rafal Roshdy Ramadan MOHAMED

Master's thesis

Sport and International Development: An Analysis of the Role of Sports in the Lives of Professional Refugee Athletes.

Abstract:

With the ever-persistent global refugee crisis, the need for new tools to address it becomes necessary day by day. This thesis explores the relation between sport and forced displacement through investigating two foundational events in the lives of the current candidates of the 2020 Refugee Olympic Team. The first one is the forced displacement experience, while the second one is getting affiliated with the IOC's Refugee Olympic Team and Refugee Athlete Support Program. Through the use of qualitative data and in-depth interviews for data collection, this thesis presents the processing role that sport played in the two events, in addition to the debate between the literature and the narratives of the IOC and the refugee athletes about the different aspects of the programs. A paradox emerged between the above-mentioned parties due to the divergence between the IOC's announced perspective of the program and the realistic experiences of the refugee athletes who are actually going through it. The intention behind this thesis is to portray the different debates about the IOC's Refugee Olympic Team and Refugee Athlete Support Program from the perspective of the literature, the IOC, and the 2020 Refugee Olympic Team candidates.

Abstract:

With the ever-persistent global refugee crisis, the need for new tools to address it becomes necessary day by day. This thesis explores the relation between sport and forced displacement through investigating two foundational events in the lives of the current candidates of the 2020 Refugee Olympic Team. The first one is the forced displacement experience, while the second one is getting affiliated with the IOC's Refugee Olympic Team and Refugee Athlete Support Program. Through the use of qualitative data and in-depth interviews for data collection, this thesis presents the processing role that sport played in the two events, in addition to the debate between the literature and the narratives of the IOC and the refugee athletes about the different aspects of the programs. A paradox emerged between the above-mentioned parties due to the divergence between the IOC's announced perspective of the program and the realistic experiences of the refugee athletes who are actually going through it. The intention behind this thesis is to portray the different debates about the IOC's Refugee Olympic Team and Refugee Athlete Support Program from the perspective of the literature, the IOC, and the 2020 Refugee Olympic Team candidates.

Keywords

The Refugee Olympic Team, forced displacement, The International Olympic Committee, Sport for development and peace, professional/elite sport, nation-state.

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 31. 5. 2021

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: Mgr. Simona Šafaříková, Ph.D., Dr. Tarminder Kaur

Palacký University Olomouc

Faculty of Science

Master programme / field:
Geography / International Development Studies