What does it mean to sponsor a global sporting event like the Olympics? Is it simply the presence of a logo and branding? For Visa, the leader in digital payments, it’s so much more. By ensuring a strong, reliable, and secure payment infrastructure, including people and communities, by helping SMEs to realize their potential, and by supporting athletes, it brings the Olympic and Paralympic Games to life by highlighting their importance.

For Visa, its relationship with the international event spans nearly four decades. A proud sponsor of the Olympic Games since 1986, it became the first global partner of the International Paralympic Committee in 2003. As an official payment technology partner, it supports athletes and enhances payment experiences by adding value to economies and societies. For nearly forty years, Visa has been implementing innovative technologies at the Olympic and Paralympic Games including the introduction of contactless payments (London 2012), the first payment ring with integrated NFC (Rio 2016), tokenization technology on mobile devices (Pyeongchang 2018) where network tokens provided seamless payment experiences and delivering an experience as comfortable as physical presence (Tokyo 2020).

For the Olympic and Paralympic Games – Paris 2024 Visa is committed to ensuring a robust, reliable, and secure payment infrastructure. At this year’s Games, Visa is introducing the Visa Go App, which will provide Visa holders with benefits and offers that empower small businesses. At the same time, it is investing in empowering athletes and creating a more inclusive world through sport. To support athletes in their personal and professional development, it provides, through the Team Visa program, financial assistance, supports charitable initiatives, and provides financial education tools and resources for mental health and wellness.

The roster of the 13th Team Visa includes 147 athletes from around the world, including vaulter Katerina Stefanidi, jumper Emmanuel Karalis, and para-cyclist Nikos Papaggelis.

The Team Visa Programme
The Program, established in 2000, aims to provide athletes with the tools, resources, and support they need to excel on and off the field, regardless of their background or origin. Team Visa athletes are selected for the program based on their personal journey, athletic achievement, community involvement and their alignment with Visa’s core values of equity, access and inclusivity. The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games is expected to be the most responsible, inclusive, equitable and spectacular event to date, and this event offers opportunities for Visa to work with its customers, partners, teams and communities to deliver even more.

Let’s meet the athletes of Team Visa, Paris Olympics 2024

Emmanuel Karalis, baton twirler, Olympic bronze medalist

Emmanouil Karalis stepped onto the podium after an epic final in the pole vault at the Paris Olympics, proving his immense athletic potential. As the son of a Greek decathlete father and a Ugandan long-jumper mother, athletics is in his blood. Emmanuel was always an exceptional athlete, excelling in taekwondo, basketball, and football, but ultimately his love was pole vaulting. He established himself as a young athlete, winning medals in youth tournaments time and time again. He made his Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games, where he briefly missed the podium, finishing in 4th place. His biggest result up to the time he won the bronze medal in Paris was at the 2023 European Indoor Championships, where he won the Silver Medal. Emmanuel currently holds the Greek record in the pole vault, with 5.93.

Katerina Stefanidi, pole vaulter

She began her international career at the age of 15 when she won the title at the 2005 K18 World Championships. Since then she has continued to rise, proving her ability on the world stage. Stefanidi’s top performance came in 2016 at the Olympics, where she won the gold medal. Stefanidi has been crowned world champion once and has won the title of European champion twice. Each victory consolidates her position as a leading figure in her sport. In every step of her career, Katerina Stefanidi embodies excellence and determination. Her journey, filled with remarkable success, continues to inspire many in the world of sport.

Nikos Papaggelis, para-cyclist

Nikos’ life took an unexpected turn when he was diagnosed with cancer, leading to the amputation of his left leg. Rather than be discouraged by this setback, Nick decided to take up high performance sports.
He began his journey as a competitive swimmer, however his true passion lay in the world of para-triathlon and para-cycling. His journey in the sport has been full of inspiration, culminating in 2018 when he won 3rd place at the UCI Para-Cycling Road World Cup in Emmen, Netherlands. As he says, sport makes him feel fulfilled as a person and has helped him overcome difficult times. His biggest dream is to win a medal at the Paralympics.

Good luck!