Sports on the Dakar 2026 program
The first Games on the African continent will also be the first to take advantage of IOC’s evolving approach to the Youth Olympic Games sports programme, aimed to better fit the local context.
The 25 competition sports selected for Dakar 2026 are athletics (track and field), aquatics (swimming), archery, badminton, baseball (baseball5), basketball (3×3), boxing, breaking, cycling (road cycling), equestrian (jumping), fencing, football (futsal), gymnastics (artistic gymnastics), handball (beach handball), judo, rowing (coastal rowing), rugby (rugby sevens), sailing, skateboarding (street), table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, volleyball (beach volleyball), wrestling (beach wrestling), and wushu.
And the 10 engagement sports for Dakar 2026 are canoe-kayak, golf, hockey, karate, modern pentathlon, shooting, sport climbing, surfing, tennis, and weightlifting.
Three Game Venues
The Games will be held across three venues: Dakar, Diamniadio, and Saly, with the aim of transforming the host nation through sport and becoming a blueprint for future YOG hosts.
The capital will be home to three of the competition venues: the Tour de l’Oeuf, where the 3×3 basketball, baseball5, breaking, skateboarding, and swimming events will take place; the Stade Iba Mar Diop (athletics, boxing, futsal, rugby sevens); and Corniche West, the location for all 10 engagement sports and the start and finish of the road cycling events.
The city of Diamniadio, around 30 kilometres east of Dakar, boasts four venues: the Equestrian Centre (jumping), Dakar Arena (badminton and futsal), Abdoulaye Wade Stadium (archery), and Dakar Expo Centre (artistic gymnastics, fencing, judo, table tennis, taekwondo and wushu). Diamniadio will also host the Youth Olympic Village.
Saly, around 80 kilometres south of the Senegalese capital, will host events at one sole venue: Saly Beach West, home to the beach handball, beach volleyball, beach wrestling, coastal rowing, sailing, and triathlon events.