Nigerian athletes, especially home-based stars seeking to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will hit Accra, Ghana, on June 1 to compete in the CAA Region II Athletics Championship.
The event runs from June 3 to 6 at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium, Accra.
The CAA Region II Athletics Championship in Accra is one of the three competitions in Africa recognised by World Athletics (WA) for athletes across the globe to pick qualification tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The other two are the Athletics Sonelgaz International Meeting slated for Stade Souk, Ethnine, Bejaia, Algeria, on June 1, and the 6th Challenge Meeting held on June 6 at the Olympic Center for Training National Team in Cairo, Egypt.
An earlier report by an online platform had stated that the CAA Region II Athletics Championship in Accra is not recognised by World Athletics, and that Nigerian athletes seeking tickets to Paris Olympics may shun it for the 4th Making of Champions (MoC) Grand Prix, slated to hold in Lagos between May 31 and June 1.
According to an online news report “If Nigeria will be sending a delegation to Ghana, most of the athletes are likely to opt out as the competition will not serve any qualification purpose as it is not registered with World Athletics. What this means is that the results achieved at the event (Region 11) will count for nothing as clearly stated by World Athletics that results of competitions which are not listed on its calendar are not recognized.”
However, organisers of the 4th MoC Grand Prix in Lagos may have abandoned the plan following the latest development from World Athletics, which refused to list the MoC event as one of those recognised for athletes to pick qualification tickets to the Paris Olympics Games.
A press conference earlier called by MoC officials for today (Wednesday) to unveil top athletes for the event in Lagos was hurriedly called off on Tuesday evening.
President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) Tonobok Okowa confirmed to AFN media today that Team Nigeria would depart for Accra on June 1 for the CAA Region II Athletics Championship.
“Our athletes and officials will leave Lagos on June 1 for the Region 11 event,” he said.
Speaking further, Okowa, who is president of Africa Region 11 and one of the vice presidents of CAA, said: “The AFN will have to pay for their accommodation for one night in Accra before the official camp opens on June 3 for the competition.
“I am sure some of our athletes will use the opportunity of attending this competition in Accra to either seal their tickets to Paris or put finishing touches to their preparations for our National Trials in Benin City, where we will pick athletes for the 2024 Africa Senior Athletics Championships holding in Douala, Cameroun, and the Paris Olympics,” Okowa stated.
