The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA) Mr. Bawa Fuseini, has asked the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the 13th African Games to reconsider the date set for the African multi-sports showdown.
According to Mr Fuseini, the March 8-23, 2024 date would not be favourable to USA based athletes.
In his view, it would be a huge setback for the athletes since some of the events at the Games would be used as qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“Most of the athlete based in the US would be involved in indoor athletics event at the time of the new date for the competition. A number of countries that have their athletes based in the States would either not have a full complement of their athletes or have them arrive out of form.”
Sharing his concerns on Tuesday’s Press Conference to announce the new date for the games, Mr Bawa said, countries would not be prepared enough for the African Games because of lack of preparation.
He said many of the athletes based in the USA would be involved in indoor competitions and as a result would lack the training to compete well in outdoor events.
He added that with athletics as one of the disciplines to serve as qualifiers for the Olympic Games, it would be important to find a date suitable for the athletes to prepare well to win medals and qualify for the Olympic Games.
He urged the LOC to take into consideration the impact athletics could have on the event and review the date.
“We are committed and determined to line up the best athletes for Ghana to win medals and make the nation proud, but would need to have the right time and athletes to do so,” he stated.
Responding, the Executive Chairman of the LOC, Dr Kweku Ofosu Asare said, there’s been several consultation with stakeholders holders due to very key factors.
He said the competition was originally scheduled for August, but moved to March 2024 due to misunderstandings between the stakeholders.
“Now that the issues are out of the way, we are on the right path to complete facilities. It would be quite a challenge to go back and change anything,” he stated.
He however assured the GAA boss thatwww there would be discussions on the issue going forward to ensure that all federations were comfortable with the new date.
BY MICHAEL D.ABAYATEYE
