The National Olympic Committee of Ivory Coast has signed a sponsorship deal to help develop the country's young athletes ©CNOCI

The National Olympic Committee of Ivory Coast (CNOCI) has signed a sponsorship deal to help develop the country's young athletes.

As part of the arrangement with the General Confederation of Enterprises of Ivory Coast (CGECI), efforts will be made to unearth stars of the future.

Both parties signed the deal at an event in Abidjan, which included CNOCI first vice president Georges Joseph N'goan and CGECI President Jean-Marie Ackah.

The CNOCI has designed a project which it hopes will aid athletes between the ages of nine and 13.

They will be working towards the 2022 edition of the African Youth Games in Maseru in Lesotho, and then the 2022 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Senegal's capital Dakar.

Cheick Sallah Cisse won Ivory Coast's first Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016 ©Getty Images
Cheick Sallah Cisse won Ivory Coast's first Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016 ©Getty Images

Talented youngsters in various sports will be identified and will following training and preparation programmes.

Dakar 2022 will be the first Olympic Games of any kind to be staged in Africa after the International Olympic Committee opted to actively target the continent for the event.

Ivory Coast won their first Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016.

Taewkondo player Cheick Sallah Cisse won the men's 80 kilograms final in the dying seconds of his clash with Britain's Lutalo Muhammad.

The African country has also won one silver medal and one bronze in its Olympic history.