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June 23, 2023
In recogntion of last Tuesday’s World Refugee Day, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports Europe launched Refugees’ Voice as part of WBD’s ‘Home Crowd’ campaign to unite fans behind the Refugee Olympic Team (EOR). It is Eurosport’s (television network owned by WBD) newest series to champion the stories of refugee athletes and demonstrates sport’s ability to help displaced people reshape their futures.
Refugees’ Voice shares stories from Refugee Athlete Scholarship holders who are hoping to be selected for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games EOR team. WBD will highlight the role athletics and sport can play in improving lives through the production of six athlete profiles of On (sportswear brand) ambassadors to bring awareness to refugee causes and their journeys. There are currently 53 candidates as part of the Olympic Refuge Foundation’s Refugee Athlete Support Programme.
“Our mission is to unlock the power of sport by connecting our audiences with stories and athletes that inspire, inform and entertain. There is perhaps no greater story in sport that embodies this than the journey of a refugee competing at the Olympic Games,” said Scott Young, SVP of Content and Production at WBD. “We will harness our international scale to maximize the reach of these important stories from some truly incredible humans, from World Refugee Day to Paris 2024 and beyond.”
The content kicked off on June 20 on Eurosport 1 with The Right to Race, a feature film on refugee athlete Dominic Lobalu’s struggle to be recognized by World Athletics as an international contender. His story follows his Kenyan beginnings to Switzerland where he found a love for running and intends to better connect sports fans with refugee causes. A monthly profile will follow on Eurosport.com in multiple languages and content will be shared across its social platforms. The interviews will also be featured in new episodes for Eurosport’s purpose-driven magazine show, The Power Sport.
The first profile, also released on World Refugee Day, tells the story of Cindy Ngamba, a boxer born in Cameroon who traveled to the UK when she was 11 to find a better life with her brother. Ngamba’s homosexuality means it’s unsafe for her to return to Cameroon, one of 64 countries where it is illegal to be gay. She now resides in the north of England and has refugee status while awaiting a British passport so that she can compete for Team GB.
“With my boxing, I think I’m able to push a bit further because if I overcame everything I have so far: my journey into the UK, being away from my mum, the bullying, learning boxing, my papers, my sexuality… when I’m in the ring and they say ‘30 seconds left’, I know I can push through. That’s my mentality,” she said.
Ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, WBD and Eurosport partnered with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency to launch the award-winning Home Crowd initiative. The campaign was created to build a fanbase to unite countries in support of the EOR.
Around the world, nearly 110 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Beyond Sport created the Sport Together Fund in 2022 to help support non-profit organizations, sports clubs and collectives who are assisting communities facing conflict, displacement, human rights violations and climate change disasters. Hear directly from our inaugural recipients’ coaches and staff as they share on their experiences and how sport is playing a role in promoting inclusion and mental well-being HERE.
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