Bolton boxer joins refugee team to fight in Paris Olympics 2024

Cindy Ngamba is working towards competing on the the Fair Chance Refugee Team, made up of sportsmen and women who have been forced to leave their home countries and seek sanctuary elsewhere.

The talented 25-year-old boxer cannot join the GB team since she does not hold a British Passport but is hoping to represent people from across the world in the Fair Chance Refugee Team.

Hailing from Cameroon, Cindy came to England with her dad when she was 13 after safety concerns in her home country, but until 16, she did not realise she had the incorrect papers after documentation was lost in Cameroon.

She was recently turned away from a match in Poland due to their immigration laws but she entered the European Championships held recently.

She said: “I know I am different from the GB team and have to do extra things that they do not have to worry about.

“It’s a great opportunity to be part of the refugee team because only one or two people from each country get picked and even then, it’s not 100 percent guaranteed you’ll be chosen to represent at the Olympics.

“So, the European Championships is to try and prove myself.”

Cindy is also the only female boxer on the Fair Chance team and already holds three England Boxing Elite titles at three different weights, which is rare, and holds a gold medal from the Bocskai Tournament, a feat previously accomplished by England boxer Anthony Joshua.

This is the first time there will be a refugee team in the Olympics, and if Cindy is picked, she says she will still represent Bolton at heart, where she has lived since she was 13-years-old.

She said: "The first place I have ever known in the UK is Bolton.

"I want to represent Bolton too, especially because so many refugees do not have this chance, so I have to make sure I give it my all in the ring."

Cindy recalls how tough it has been for her with being detained in 2020 and sent to a UK detention camp and feeling, she said being "treated like a criminal".

She said: “It’s been hard and there are times I will sit in my room and think about how they could deport me at any moment, and nobody can do anything about it.

“At the detention camp, they would not tell me why I was there, and you just feel so worthless.

“I would learn other people had been there for months and even years and I’d worry that would happen to me.”

Cindy won her first fight in the championships on a unanimous decision but lost in her second fight after a split decision.

The Bolton hopeful will get another two chances next year to qualify for the Olympics, and her refugee status will not stop her.

Cindy is ranked number eight in the world as a new middleweight at 75kg.