International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Humphrey Kayange has been named as the new chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for the fourth Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Dakar 2026.
Kayange was appointed by IOC president Thomas Bach following a request from president-elect Kirsty Coventry, who stepped down from her position as chair of the commission after her election as IOC President in March.
For over a decade, Kayange represented Kenya in rugby sevens, captaining the national team, winning the Singapore Sevens in 2016 and competing at the Olympic Games Rio 2016. His leadership on the field earned him recognition in the World Rugby Sevens Series and a 2023 World Rugby Hall of Fame induction.
An IOC Member and Athletes’ Commission member since 2021, Kayange has been a member of the Coordination Commission for Dakar 2026 since 2022. He brings further experience through his role on the Executive Committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and leadership positions in sports administration, including Chair of the Kenyan NOC Athletes’ Commission, Executive Board member of the Kenya Academy of Sports and Kenya Rugby Union.
As chair of the coordination commission, Kayange will lead the efforts to support the YOGOC in the planning and delivery of the YOG Dakar 2026. Working in close collaboration with National Olympic Committees, International Federations, Olympic Movement stakeholders and local authorities, his role will be key in ensuring that all aspects of the project are developed and executed to deliver the first Olympic sporting event to be hosted on the African continent.
On his appointment as Chair, Kayange said: “My vision is driven by empowering young athletes. I’m honoured to serve the Olympic Movement and help provide a platform for young people to pursue excellence. Dakar 2026 will unite young athletes from around the world, celebrating African innovation and the Olympic spirit.”
Kayange will chair the upcoming coordination commission meeting in Dakar, Senegal on May 7-8, which will also be attended by the IOC president-elect.
The YOG Dakar 2026 will take place for two weeks from Octobe 31 , bringing together the world’s best young athletes aged up to 17 years.
The Games will be held across three host sites (Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly), and are intended as a catalyst to transform Senegal through sport, while becoming a blueprint for future YOG hosts.
Dakar 2026 is born out of the desire to take the Youth Olympic Games to all parts of the world and to put the Games at the heart of Africa’s transformation. Senegal’s sporting culture and practice are rooted in its history and population, especially young people. These Games seek to be synonymous with symbiosis, exchange, joy and pride, but also humility, for young people worldwide, in Africa and in Senegal. Sport is meant to be a celebration and a way of living together, a vector for peace, rapprochement and social cohesion.
This approach is embodied in the new motto for the Games, “Africa welcomes, Dakar celebrates”, which seeks to express how the young people of Africa are ready to welcome the world’s youth to collaboratively shape the ambitions of their shared future during the Games.
Dakar 2026 will be the first Games to benefit from a new approach to the YOG sports programme, which aims to better fit into the local and regional context of each edition. This revised process will see a tailored sports competition programme designed for each edition of the YOG, created in close collaboration with the Organising Committee (YOGOC) and the International Sports Federations (IFs), to ensure the YOG retain their position as an elite multisport competition and sport engagement platform.
For Dakar 2026, this will see 25 sports on the competition programme and 10 forming part of a new engagement programme, aimed at helping to build interest and participation within the host country and host region by enabling local young people to try these sports rather than simply being spectators.
In a decision approved during the 136th Session of the IOC on 17 July 2020, Senegal and the IOC mutually agreed to postpone the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar from 2022 to 2026.
