Nigerian athletes, especially home-based stars, aspiring to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics will hit Accra, Ghana on June 1 to compete in the CAA Region II Athletics Championships.
The event will be held from June 3 to 6 at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium, Accra.
The CAA Region II Athletics Championships in Accra is one of three events in Africa recognized by World Athletics (WA) for athletes worldwide to pick qualification tickets for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The other two are the Sonelgaz International Athletics Meeting scheduled for Stade Souk, Ethnine, Bejaia, Algeria on June 1 and the 6th Challenge Meeting to be held on June 6 at the National Team Olympic Training Center in Cairo, Egypt.
An earlier report by an online platform stated that the CAA Region II Athletics Championships in Accra is not recognized by World Athletics and that Nigerian athletes seeking tickets to the Paris Olympics may shun it for the fourth Making of Champions (MoC) Grand Prix ), will take place in Lagos between May 31 and June 1.
According to the report, “If Nigeria sends a delegation to Ghana, most athletes are likely to be excluded as the event will not serve any qualifying purpose because it is not registered with World Athletics”.
This means that the results achieved in the event (Region 11) will count for nothing, as World Athletics clearly states that the results of events not listed on its calendar are not recognised.’
However, organizers of the fourth MoC Grand Prix in Lagos may have abandoned the plan following the latest development by World Athletics, which did not list the MoC event as one of those recognized for athletes to pick qualification tickets to the Olympics Paris.
A press conference earlier called by MoC officials for yesterday (Wednesday) to unveil top athletes for the event in Lagos was hastily canceled on Tuesday afternoon.
The President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Tonobok Okowa, confirmed to The Guardian, yesterday, that the Nigerian team will leave for Accra on June 1 for the CAA Region II Athletics Championships.
Okowa, who is the chairman of Africa Region 11 and one of the CAA vice-chairmen, said: “The AFN will have to pay for their overnight accommodation in Accra before the official camp opens on June 3 for the competition.
“I am sure that some of our athletes will use the opportunity to attend this match in Accra to book their tickets to Paris or put the finishing touches on their preparations for our national trials in Benin City where they will we will select athletes for the 2024 Africa Senior Athletics Championships held in Douala, Cameroon and the Paris Olympics,” Okowa said.