Cameroon set to host African Athletics Championships in 2024
- Published
200m runner Emmanuel Eseme was the only track and field athlete from Cameroon to compete at the Tokyo Olympics last year
Cameroon is set to host the African Athletics Championships in 2024.
The central African nation was in line to be the venue for the 22nd edition of the event this year, but it will take place in Mauritius instead.
Those Championships begin on Wednesday and last until 12 June.
Hamad Kalkaba Malboum, the Cameroonian president of the Confederation of African Athletics, said the 23rd African Championships would be held in his home nation.
"Our council decided to grant to Cameroon the African Championships for 2022 when we had our council in Qatar in 2019," Malboum, 71, said.
"Unfortunately because the agenda was full with the Africa Cup of Nations - and costly - we postponed that event and granted the rights to Mauritius to host the event.
"But now Cameroon is ready to host the Championships in 2024.
"[On Thursday] we spoke about this with the (Cameroonian) minister of sports, and we will bring back to Cameroon the flag of the event.
"This is very important for Cameroonians to know that we are going to host the Championships."
Cameroon last hosted the African Athletics Championships in 1996, with the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in the capital Yaounde the venue.