News Rio 2016 has guaranteed a warm Brazilian welcome for the refugee athletes that will compete at this year’s Olympic Games under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banner Details of the Refugee Olympic Athletes (ROA) team were revealed on Wednesday (2 March) at the IOC executive board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland The team is expected to comprise between five and 10 athletes, who must reach specific sporting standards and have official refugee status verified by the United Nations (UN) The ROA team will be treated like all other national teams, for example receiving its own welcome ceremony at the Rio 2016 Olympic Village Mario Cilenti, Rio 2016’s Olympic Village and NOC relations director, welcomed the announcement, saying: “It is fantastic news that the IOC has created a team of refugee athletes to compete at the Rio 2016 Games Alongside athletes from all corners of the globe, they will be received with open arms at the Olympic Village and by all of Rio 2016, and we are sure that Brazilians will also welcome them with the warmth for which they are renowned ”“This initiative shows the power of sport to help make the world a better place”Mario Cilenti, Rio 2016’s Olympic Village and NOC relations directorSpeaking in London on Thursday (3 March), Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman said: “We are totally in favour of this initiative The IOC will decide how many athletes compete, but our doors are open It will be a very positive contribution ”IOC President Thomas Bach first announced the plan to have refugee athletes competing under the Olympic flag last October, when the Rio 2016 Olympic truce was approved by the UN in New York Bach called on National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to identify potential athletes for the team, and 43 candidates have since been suggested One of them is Iranian-born Raheleh Asemani taekwondo competitor, who is currently living in Belgium where she works as a postwoman Asemani won an Olympic slot at the European qualifying tournament in January seems well-placed to be on the refugee team that will parade in the opening ceremony at the Maracanã Stadium under the Olympic flag The selected athletes will be announced in June Raheleh Asemani (right) has already won a place at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Photo: Turkish Taekwondo Federation) The ROA team’s entourage – including a chef de mission, coaches and technical officials – will be appointed by the IOC, which will also supply their uniform and cover travel, insurance and other participation costs, and will continue to support the athletes after the Games “Having no national team to belong to, having no flag to march behind, having no national anthem to be played, these refugee athletes will be welcomed to the Olympic Games with the Olympic flag and with the Olympic anthem,” said Bach “By welcoming the team of Refugee Olympic Athletes to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, we want to send a message of hope for all refugees in our world”Thomas Bach, IOC PresidentThe IOC has been working with the UN for 20 years to use sport to support healing and development among young refugees around the world In September, the IOC announced an emergency fund of US$2 million for NOCs to fund programmes aimed at helping refugees Bach saw how some of this money had been used by the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) to provide sporting facilities in the Eleonas camp in Athens, where he also announced that a refugee will carry the torch during the first stage of the Rio 2016 Olympic Torch Relay in Greece Peace, love and ping-pong… 18 times that sport made the world a better placeIOC President Thomas Bach visited a refugee camp in Athens in January (Photo: IOC/Ian Jones)