Wafaa M Rashed, Chair and Founder of Pan – African PGS Education and Research Initiative (PAPERI), shared on LinkedIn:
“Africa has just witnessed WAFCON 2026. Now we need to ask a bigger question: what happens to athletes’ genetic data after the final whistle?
The 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco has concluded – but the policy questions surrounding genetics, sports, privacy and human rights are only becoming more urgent.
Genomic technologies may offer opportunities for injury prevention, medical care and more personalised approaches to athlete health. But without strong safeguards, the same information could be misused for genetic scouting, discrimination, exclusion or inappropriate sharing with third parties.
This is why genetic information in sport cannot be treated simply as another performance metric.
Athletes deserve:
- Meaningful and informed consent,
- Strong protection of genetic and health information,
- Clear limits on who can access their data,
- Protection against genetic discrimination,
- Independent mechanisms to challenge decisions based on genetic information,
- Ethical oversight of genetic testing in sport.
The debate has become even more important following the IOC’s March 2026 decision to introduce one – time gene screening for eligibility in the female category at the Olympic Games from Los Angeles 2028. The controversy surrounding the policy – including concerns raised by Caster Semenya – shows how deeply genetics, sport, identity, human rights and governance can intersect.
For Africa, WAFCON 2026 should not be the end of this conversation. It should be a starting point for stronger and more coordinated policies.
Africa has an opportunity to lead – not by rejecting genomic innovation, but by ensuring that innovation is built around athlete dignity, fairness, privacy and human rights.
This important discussion is explored in the blog by Mr. Mutaz M. Abdallah from Sudan, developed through the Pan – African PGS Education and Research Initiative (PAPERI).
What should CAF and African national sports authorities do next to ensure that genomic innovation protects athletes rather than putting them at risk?”
Other articles featuring Wafaa M Rashed on OncoDaily.