After hosting the African Games last March in Accra, Ghana won the organization of the senior African athletics championships in 2026. The decision was taken by the Council of the African Athletics Confederation, meeting in Douala, in Cameroon. Ghana competed with Botswana. He obtained 12 of the 15 votes of the members of the Council of the body. The president of the Ghanaian federation, Bawah FUSEINI, specified that the event will take place in the capital Accra.
Ghana lifted a sterling victory in the boardroom. How prepared are you to host the next edition?
In terms of infrastructure, I can say we are prepared. But you can’t say it is acquired until you get it executed. So we will go back to Ghana and we will plan with our governement to see how financially they can support us. In terms of human capacity, we got a very rich human capacity in Ghana. Its going to be lovely more than what we did in African Games. I want to beat Cameroon in terms of organisation. We also learnt alot coming here. The CAA has honoured me and giving me the organisation of that competition. This is my firt time of playing that role. I have learned so much. I will also like to take this opportunity to thank President KALKABA, the Senior Vice-President, General Jackson Kiprono TUWEI and others. The Cameroonian Athletics has been of incredible support to me since we came here. They were so supportive and the Director General of CAA, Lamine FATY, was very supportive. They supported me to make sure that I did what I was suppose to do. So I am so grateful of what i have learnt here. I Will go back to my country Ghana to implemente what I have acquired so far. The next time you are in Ghana, you will see what I got here has been implemented in Accra.
What is your overall impression of Douala 2024 Championships as regards organisation and performance of athletes?
Athletes performed well. There were some hitches, but there is no competition without hitches. The most important thing is how to be able to meet the challenges. How you face the obstacles is what makes the difference and you guys have made a difference.
Did the performance of Ghanaian athletes meet your expectations?
They are meeting our expectations. But we wanted to qualify for the female 100 metres. We did not get it but we won a gold and silver medal. That’s was very good. We got a couple of medals at the men one hundred metres and women. We also expected other medals. Overall, it is better than what we did in the last competition in Mauritius.
Interview by SBN
