Algeria calls for postponement of Senior African Championships

The 22nd African Senior Athletics Championships, initially scheduled for June 22-26 in Algiers, were finally postponed to a later date, due to the health situation linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and following "recommendations" of the Algerian scientific committee for monitoring the evolution of the pandemic.

 

"Due to the health situation, marked by a rebound in the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic and the risk of circulation of new variants, the competent authorities, following the recommendations of the scientific committee for monitoring the evolution of the Covid pandemic -19, recommended to postpone this sporting event to a later date, ”said a statement from the Algerian Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The ministerial department called on the Algerian Athletics Federation (FAA) "to make the necessary arrangements to inform the officials of the African Athletics Confederation (CAA), in order to agree on new dates for the holding of these championships as soon as We recalls that the African Athletics Confederation (CAA) had indicated "that it was listening to the Algerian authorities to confirm the date of the championships", while affirming that the scientific committee monitoring the evolution of the pandemic of Covid-19 "alone is empowered to make a decision in relation to the evolution of the pandemic at national and regional level".

This postponement will handicap some African athletes who had not yet won the minimums. They then counted on these African Championships, to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics which will be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021.