Following a meeting today of the IOC Executive Board in Lausanne, shooting has been confirmed on the Engagement Programme of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), which takes place in Dakar, Senegal from 31 October to 13 November 2026.
The IOC has emphasised the need to deliver Games that totally fit in the local and regional and continental context and has designed sports competition and engagement programmes for each edition of the YOG, created in close collaboration with the Organising Committee (YOGOC) and the International Federations (IFs). This is the first time that the Youth Olympic Games is taking place in Africa.
Sports in both programmes will be officially promoted by the IOC and the local organising committee.
President Luciano Rossi expressed his delight at this announcement:
“This is a great honour for shooting to be confirmed as part of Dakar 2026 and demonstrates how far ISSF has come in its efforts to rebuild bridges with the IOC and return to a position at the heart of the Olympic Games. One of our strategic goals is to develop our sport’s appeal amongst young people and, being selected for the engagement programme YOG is a great step in this direction. We aim to maximise the impact of shooting sport in Africa by engaging with local youth and use the online YOG materials and toolkits to reach out to young shooting athletes all over the world.”
The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) are an elite sporting event for young people aged from 15 to 18 from all over the world.