The year when snow sports came to life in Guinea-Bissau

It wouldn’t be too daring to state that, on the surface, Guinea-Bissau is not a nation widely associated with winter sports. Warm all year round, known for its national parks and wildlife, snow is not something synonymous with the West African nation.  

In fact, it was not until earlier this year, in February, that the Winter Sports Federation of Guinea-Bissau was even founded.  

When the country decided to take a step into the world of winter sports world, though, they did it with purpose: in June, Guinea-Bissau was admitted as a new associate member of FIS, at the 55^th International Ski Congress in Reykjavik, Iceland. A few months later, the federation already has three regional clubs and over 500 members, and General Secretary Thomas Tang envisions paving the way for what would be a historic first time at the Winter Olympics. 

“For this season, by March 2025 we would like to host Alpine events, such as a National Championship and a National Junior Championship, in a European country,” says Tang. “There will be training camps held for potential competitors throughout the year both on dry land and on snow.”  

Part of their long-term vision is to become a full member of FIS, while recruiting skiers in both Alpine and Cross-Country, using summer rolling skiing to help the process.

“This is exactly the kind of journey that we, at FIS, want to be a part of”, says FIS Director for Development Programmes, Dimitrije Lazarovski. “We are looking forward to working with Guinea-Bissau and assisting them with their growth over the years.”