South Sudan Olympic Team
FILE - Somon Makhmadbekov, of Tajikistan, left, and Ahmad Alikaj, of the Refugee Olympic Team, compete during their men's 73kg elimination round of the judo match, at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, July 26, 2021. The Olympic Refugee Foundation and the refugee Olympics team are the winners of this year’s Princess of Asturias Award for sports, the Spanish foundation that organizes the prizes said Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)
Refugee Olympic team awarded prestigious Spanish prize

May. 25, 2022 08:21 AM EDT

FILE - International Olympic Committee Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. arrives for a news conference at the headquarters of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee in Beijing, Sept. 18, 2018. The International Olympic Committee member who oversaw Beijing Winter Games preparations since 2015 was voted back on its executive board Saturday, Feb. 19. 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Samaranch voted back on IOC executive board at Beijing Games

By Graham Dunbar Feb. 19, 2022 05:31 AM EST

FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 22, 2019 file photo, Dallas Mavericks center Salah Mejri in action during the team's NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets in Dallas. While the AfroBasket tournament doesn’t boast the star power of an Olympics, it does showcase ever-competitive and improving quality of basketball on the continent. Mejri, a more slender 7-foot-2 center who played for the Dallas Mavericks from 2015-19, hopes to use his 3-point shooting to draw former NBA draft pick Walter “Edy” Tavares away from the basket. Ugandan players struggled in the paint, knowing Tavares was looming to swat away shots. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, file)
Tall task: Cape Verde aims high in AfroBasket semifinals

By Ken Maguire Sep. 03, 2021 02:18 PM EDT

United States' players celebrate after their win in the men's basketball gold medal game against France at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, in Saitama, Japan. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
US draws Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico for World Cup qualifying

By Tim Reynolds Aug. 31, 2021 08:31 AM EDT

The refugee team carry the Olympic flag during the opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 23, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (Dylan Martinez/Pool Photo via AP)
IOC to adapt refugee athletes program to counter criticism

By Graham Dunbar Jul. 27, 2021 05:38 AM EDT

FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, Minnesota Timberwolves' Luol Deng in action suring an NBA basketball game, in Minneapolis, USA. The two-time NBA All Star, who became president of the South Sudan basketball federation after retiring as a player last year, Luol Deng wants to build up basketball in his native South Sudan that may mean him coaching the national team himself, as they prepare to play against Mali upcoming Saturday Nov. 28 2020. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, FILE)
Retired NBA player Deng coaches South Sudan at tournament

Nov. 27, 2020 10:47 AM EST