Lagos – The Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) has awarded Lagos State the hosting right of the 22nd African Championships in Athletics.
The disclosure was made in the “Inside Games’’, an online publication on in Lagos.
The publication said the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung and the President of CAA, Hamad Malboum, signed the agreement on Friday in Abuja.
According to the online portal, the minister also announced the setting up of a High Altitude Training Centre in Jos to which the CAA would support technically.
The publication quoted Dalung as saying that championships would serve as a way of developing talents.
“Sport is one of the strongest weapons for promoting development in Africa, adding that the only thing that can provide gainful employment for youths is sport.
“With the support of the government, I have discussed with officials in South Africa that there is a need for us to strengthen the Council of Sports Ministers meeting.
“And we must begin to identify the relevant issues that will move African sports forward and also give Africa a comparative advantage to compete with other countries of the world,’’ the publication said.
It stated that the absence of facilities had made African athletes to travel for training outside Africa and end up becoming citizens of countries where they trained and camped.
“If we must also domesticate our own talents and skills for the benefit of young Africans, then we must invest in the provision of modern sporting facilities in Africa.
“This will take us to the development of a functional high performance system with all the necessary equipment for the training, camping and development of African athletes,” it added.
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It’s also noted that the 2018 championships were expected to be held at the National Stadium, Abuja which hosted the event in 1989.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that African Athletics Championships, a biennial event, was first held in Dakar, Senegal.
The last edition took place in 2014 in Marrakech, Morocco, where South Africa finished top of the medals table.
They won a total of 10 gold medals, beating Nigeria to the second position with eight gold.
The next Championships are due to be held in Durban, South Africa from June 22 to June 26, 2016. (NAN)