Remy Rioux, Chief Executive Officer of Agence Française de Développement, and Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024, announced the signing of a cooperation agreement between both organisations to initiate and support projects that combine sport and sustainable development, in France and around the world.

Paris 2024 and the Agence Française de Développement will thus realise a mutual ambition: to put the energy of the Games for the benefit of all, in France and around the world. Featuring a national and an international component, this collaboration agreement is unprecedented in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, demonstrating the determination of Paris 2024 to organise Games aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as defined by the United Nations.

The signature of this agreement marks the alliance of two organisations brought together by the shared belief that sport is a powerful lever for social and societal change. Through this commitment, Paris 2024 will roll out its Legacy and Sustainability Strategy and its activities in the fields of education, health, insertion, gender equality, disability and peace through sport beyond its national boundaries.

Support and Assistance for Sport for Development Projects

As of today, various concrete actions initiated under the framework of this agreement can be confirmed:
• As of 2020, a group of 24 athletes carrying out projects with a social and environmental impact in France (8 athletes) and in priority countries identified for French Official Development Assistance (16 athletes) will benefit from an entrepreneurship support programme. At least half of this first group will be made up of female athletes. Over the 2020-2023 period, the Agence Française de Développement will allocate an envelope of €700,000 to finance this programme.
The Agence Française de Développement and Paris 2024 will launch a €3 million call for projects for the 2021-2023 period, to finance projects that harness sport for development. These projects may be conducted by local actors (e.g. NGOs, NOCs, NPCs, sports federations, etc.) based in the priority countries identified for French Official Development Assistance. Projects aimed at promoting gender equality through sport, and those that contribute to a better integration of people with disabilities through sport will be specifically supported.

• Cities and regions that have obtained the “Terre de Jeux 2024” label and that are carrying out decentralised cooperation projects in the area of sport will be able to apply for financial support from the Agence Française de Développement via the French Local Authorities Financing Facility (FICOL). Each project that meets the eligibility criteria may be awarded between €200,000 and €1.5 million in financial assistance, with a maximum contribution from the Agence Française de Développement of 70% out of the total costs of the project.

This agreement follows on from the first collaborative effort carried out by the Agence Française de Développement and Paris 2024 in association with the Dakar 2022 Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee - the first Olympic event to be organised in the African continent. As part of the “Dioko Alliance,” led by Paris 2024 in conjunction with the IOC, the Agence Française de Développement has pledged to provide funds for the renovation of the main infrastructures to be used for Dakar 2022.

In addition to these activities, Paris 2024 and the Agence Française de Développement will raise awareness on the contribution of sport to sustainable development, so that it is more fully integrated into the agenda of international donors and international organisations. In particular, the Agence Française de Développement will encourage the wider ecosystem of development agencies and development banks to further incorporate “sport” components, derived from the Olympic and Paralympic Movement, into their activities.

Quote from Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024: “We are very pleased and proud to sign this cooperation agreement with the Agence Française de Développement. At Paris 2024, we are convinced that sport provides solutions to the major challenges of our time: education, equality, health, coexistence and so on. We are already working to make this belief a reality in France, by supporting existing initiatives and developing new projects with the actors committed to working alongside us. Because the Olympic and Paralympic Games are a great universal and fraternal celebration that is open to all people, we also want to leave a legacy beyond our national boundaries, so that sport can play its full part in sustainable and human development.”

Quote from Remy Rioux, Chief Executive Officer of the Agence Française de Développement: “I am delighted with this unprecedented partnership between Paris 2024 and the Agence Française de Développement Group which marks a closer relationship between the Olympic and Paralympic Movements and development actors, working on a dual climate and social agenda. Members of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games team and Agence Française de Développement have been brought together to endeavour towards a common goal of a world united under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); fully in the image of Olympic universalism. To achieve this, let us mobilize all of the SDG funding partners to show that sport is indeed a powerful lever for development.”