The International Olympic Committee gave 10 refugee athletes a chance to compete in Rio, and Visa is going to help them get there.
Visa announced Friday that it had signed Yusra Mardini, a Syrian swimmer, to a sponsorship deal. She joins Raheleh Asemani, an Iranian refugee who now represents Belgium, and Visa is working to add the other members of the 10-person Refugee Olympic Team announced by the IOC earlier in the day.
“When the IOC first said it was going to be doing this, we were like, `Yeah, the epicenter of our creative (theme) is acceptance, and that sounds exactly like what we stand for,” said Chris Curtin, Visa’s chief brand and innovation marketing officer.