IOC releases list of countries eligible to apply for universality places for Tokyo 2020

Four of the 128 archers that will compete in the archery events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will do so under universality invitations.

Awarded by the International Olympic Committee’s tripartite commission, universality quota places promote sports development, provide equal opportunity to smaller countries and progress the competitive ambitions of emerging nations. 

Archery’s invitational places have helped athletes from Bhutan, Bangladesh and Malawi compete at previous Games. Now, Bangladesh has qualified its first-ever archer to an Olympics during the recent world championships.

The International Olympic Committee recently released the list of 92 nations that are eligible to apply for universality spots at Tokyo 2020. National federations interested in applying must contact their National Olympic Committee, not World Archery.

These spots are only awarded at the end of the qualification procedure – meaning all countries should still try to win quotas – and the athletes that receive them must have reached the minimum standard set for the Games.

Tripartite-eligible countries for Tokyo

Nations listed in italics have an active national archery federation as of 14 August 2019. Nations listed in bold qualified quota places to Tokyo 2020 at the 2019 Hyundai World Archery Championships.

Africa: Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of the CongoDjibouti, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Lesotho, Libya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome and Principe, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.

America: Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bermuda, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the US Virgin Islands.

Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Iraq, Kuwait, Laos, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Syria, Timor-Leste and Yemen

Europe: Albania, Andorra, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, Monaco and San Marino.

Oceania: American Samoa, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The archery competitions at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games begin on 24 July.

Competitions