NEWS PROVIDED BY
Coptic Solidarity
Aug. 12, 2024

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 2024 /Christian Newswire/ -- Coptic Solidarity (CS) urges the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to conduct an immediate investigation into flagrant discrimination against Coptic athletes in Egypt and to enforce corrective actions if the Egyptian Olympic Committee is found to be undermining and operating in contravention of the Olympic charter, code of ethics, and values.
 
Despite comprising nearly 15% of the Egyptian population, Copts are virtually absent from the Olympics and all international competitions, prevented from competing and representing their
nation.

Discrimination against Coptic athletes starts at a young age. Once a player is identified as a Christian, they are disqualified at nearly every level of sport. The few who arrive at higher levels are removed in the process of signing with an athletic team (especially because faith is a required field on Egyptian ID cards), irrespective of their skill.

Proof of this systematic discrimination against Coptic athletes is best observed in their complete absence from the Egyptian Olympic Mission to China and Brazil, in 2012 and 2016 respectively. There was a single Copt in the Egyptian delegation of 141 athletes to the Olympic games in Tokyo 2020 and one Copt of 154 Egyptian athletes in the current Olympics in Paris 2024.

In August 2016, Coptic Solidarity (CS) sent letters to the IOC and FIFA, notifying them of the systematic discrimination Coptic athletes and footballers experience in Egypt. Initially, these
efforts were met with silence.
 
In 2018, Coptic Solidarity published the first and only extensive documentation of systematic discrimination against individual Coptic footballers in Egypt in a report titled, Discrimination Against Copts in Egyptian Sport Clubs. After European news outlets began to publish Coptic Solidarity's request for an investigation, FIFA contacted Coptic Solidarity requesting more information. This resulted in several meetings, but with no change or improvement.
 
On their part, the IOC has never replied to Coptic Solidarity's letters or formal submission through the online complaints' mechanism. Last week, Coptic Solidarity again submitted a new complaint to the IOC's Integrity and Compliance Hotline and sent a new letter to the IOC president and general director.

The Olympic Charter prohibits discrimination of any kind and mandates that all members of the Olympic Movement adhere to its principles (Olympic Charter, Rule 2 and Principle 6). It is the guardian of the Olympic Spirit and bound by the Olympic Charter to ensure that all National Olympic Committee's (NOCs) adhere to principles of fairness and non-discrimination. It also is the responsibility of the IOC to investigate and take appropriate actions against discrimination within an NOC (Olympic Charter, Rule 27).
 
If an NOC practices religion-based discrimination against a large segment of the nation's citizens and ignores protests, the IOC has the responsibility to correct the situation, and has several tools at its disposal to that end. These include sanctions, which range from warnings and reprimands to suspension or even exclusion, and other measures to enforce compliance with its principles. The IOC previously applied such sanctions against South Africa (1964- 1992) and Kuwait (2015- 2019).

The IOC is expected to work with National Olympic Committees and International Federations to protect athletes from discrimination and abuse. For the Olympics to succeed in its mission, the IOC needs to more forcibly engage its duty and take serious action in cases of overt discrimination. Only this level of international pressure will affect change for Coptic and other minority-faith athletes.

To this end, Coptic Solidarity demanded that the IOC warn Egypt that it will be suspended from participating in future Olympics unless the IOC can verify that the Egyptian Olympic Committee has taken concrete steps to:

• Create an online mechanism for athletes to report discrimination and have an independent, neutral, and qualified entity to investigate these claims in a timely manner. A policy of non-retaliation is critical to the success of a reporting mechanism.
   
• Appoint a contact person for diversity and anti-discrimination in Egyptian sports
   
• Create an action plan with measurable steps, to combat discrimination
   
• Make it a goal for Egypt's NOC that its participation in the 2028 Olympics will be conditional to having at least 10% of Coptic participation, and women/men near-parity.
   
• Ensure the Egyptian Football Association has instituted at least a 10% quota for Coptic footballers at the club level and on the National team, reserve team, and youth team.
   
• Remove religion from sports clubs' adhesion formalities.

Coptic Solidarity is an organization seeking to help minorities, particularly the Copts of Egypt. We support those in Egypt working for democracy, freedom, and the protection of the fundamental rights of all Egyptian citizens, and advocate in cooperation with the affiliated organizations in Canada and in Europe (Solidarité Copte). For more information, write to
coptadvocacy@copticsolidarity.org

SOURCE Coptic Solidarity