At a meeting of the Executive Committee (ExCom) of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) held on 19 December 2024, a decision was taken to encourage and facilitate the participation of Belarusian youth athletes in the forthcoming European Youth Olympic Festivals (EYOF) as [Individual Neutral Athletes / Neutral Athletes]. The decision will apply to the Winter EYOF Bakuriani 2025 and the Summer EYOF Skopje 2025.
Participation will be conditional on strict criteria, including the absence of flags, anthems and other national emblems linked to Belarus. Eligibility checks will be conducted to ensure the absence of public statements in favour of the war.
The decision reflects a decision taken previously by the ExCom on 26 January 2023, notably:
“With regard to the future participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions, the EOC appreciates the importance of removing barriers to sport serving as a unifying force. This especially applies to Europe, which serves to bring together diverse people of different nations. The EOC does not feel athletes should be prevented from competing solely on the basis of which passport they hold.”
The EOC will now engage in discussions with the International Federations responsible for delivering competitions in their respective sports at the forthcoming EYOFs, in order to provide opportunities for Belarusian athletes aged 14-18 to compete there.
The ExCom also reaffirmed its continued support for Ukrainian athletes. This support enabled widespread Ukrainian participation and success at the 2023 EYOFs as well as the 2023 European Games.
