On October 6, 2026, it was announced that eleven athletes from Andalucía—seven women and four men—will represent Spain at the IV Youth Olympic Games, taking place in Dakar, Senegal, from October 31 to November 13. This marks the highest participation rate among Spain's autonomous communities, contributing to a national team of 44 members announced by the Spanish Olympic Committee.
The Andalusian delegation, accounting for 25% of the Spanish team, includes beach handball players Marta Bouzo Alonso, Victoria Gómez García, Ana Jaime Sánchez, and Laura Linares Heredia; athlete Cristóbal Díaz Béjar; archers Rodrigo Palomo Sánchez and Sandra Pérez Cumbreras; sailor Olivia Sánchez Moral; rugby 7 player Rosana Senes Gallardo; boxer Pablo Souto Macías; and cyclist Alejandro Wymmersch Pacheco. They will compete in seven of the 25 sports featured in this edition of the Games, which is notable as it is the first time Africa hosts an Olympic event.
With this group of eleven competitors, Andalucía surpasses other regions in athlete representation, including Catalonia with ten, Valencia with six, the Basque Country with five, Madrid with four, and Galicia with three. Additionally, Aragón, Murcia, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, and Extremadura each contribute one athlete, bringing the total to eleven territories providing young talent to the Spanish team.
Patricia del Pozo, President of the Andalucía Olympic Foundation and Regional Minister of Culture, Historical Heritage, and Sport, congratulated the athletes on their Olympic qualification and wished them success, along with the other 44 Spanish athletes, in this return of the Youth Olympic Games, which were canceled in 2022 due to scheduling impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and the rescheduling of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to 2021.
Del Pozo expressed satisfaction with the significant proportion of Andalusians in the national team, noting, "We have increased from 15% in Buenos Aires 2018, the previous edition, to 25% now, confirming Andalucía's important contribution to Spanish Olympic sports." She added, "This is positive news for the future, suggesting we have a strong base to eventually succeed the current generation of outstanding Andalusian athletes, who set a historical record with 43 representatives at the Paris 2024 Olympics."
The overall budget of the Andalucía Olympic Foundation, which funds awards and support for athletes, comes from contributions by the Regional Ministry of Culture, Historical Heritage, and Sport, sponsorships from Fundación Cruzcampo, Fundación Cajasol, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, and ONCE, as well as contributions from institutional partners such as the Diputación de Jaén, Diputación de Sevilla, and the municipalities of Dos Hermanas and La Rinconada.
