The upcoming Rio Olympics is all about friendly competition among countries, but that doesn’t mean that people who suddenly find themselves without a country cannot compete.

The International Olympic Committee will be adding a different twist to the upcoming Olympic games in Brazil -- a team of refugees who are caught in the middle of the crisis currently plaguing the Middle East, per the Associated Press.

As of this writing, around 43 candidate athletes have been already identified by the IOC as potential Olympians who will be aided in their preparations and training.

The IOC has reportedly pledged $2 million to help out the affected refugees and has sought the help of authorities in identifying the top-level international athletes.

Athletes who would be selected will undergo the usual process of checking their eligibility, nationality and refugee status. The IOC will appoint coaches, officials and other personnel to handle the team while also providing uniforms for them.

They will reside in the Olympic village with other athletes but will also undergo drug testing procedures, which will be administered by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

According to the Telegraph, there are at least 10 who could be selected to compose the Team Refugee Olympic Athletes or ROA.

"By welcoming ROA to the Olympic Games in Rio, we want to send a message of hope to all the refugees of the world," said IOC president Thomas Bach.

Bach added that the people who will eventually comprise the ROA will be treated in the same way as athletes from other countries complete with the Olympic flag and anthem.

The team of refugees will be the one to make a penultimate entrance during the opening ceremonies. All this was announced after the two-day meeting held recently at Lausanne.

Team composition remains a mystery for now though Bach hints that the team will likely be composed of 5 to 10 players.

The lucky aspirants who will compose team ROA will be done according to the individual’s sporting achievement together with personal circumstances. The team will be officially announced this coming June.

There were already three names identified last December, who were athletes forced to flee their home countries in the midst of the crisis.

Per The Guardian, the three individuals include a swimmer from Syria who is based in Germany, a judoka from the Dominican Republic currently in Brazil and a Tae Kwon Do fighter from Iran who is undergoing training in Belgium.