Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) President, Halmad Kalkaba, has expressed confidence that athletes of African descent will dominate track and field globally during his tenure.
Speaking to newsmen at the ongoing CAA African U18/U20 Athletics Championships in Abeokuta on Thursday, Kalkaba said this ambition reflects Africa’s growing influence in athletics.
The Cameroonian sports administrator reaffirmed his commitment to developing grassroots talent and positioning Africa as a global powerhouse in track and field.
According to him, African athletes are currently making waves all over the world but are not dominating the sport in the real sense of it.
He, however, noted that paucity of funds to keep them active in the continent remained one of the challenges.
The CAA president added that there were athletes in Africa who could have attracted funds for growth and development of track and field, saying they changed allegiance to other countries soon after discovery.
” You discover that soon after they are developed, they change allegiance to other countries in Europe, America, Asia , making it difficult to continue running in and for Africa.
“It is the right of athletes and their federations to decide what and where their athletes should go.
“But we liaise with federations on how to mitigate these moves by thinking out development plans in favour of athletes through collaborations with Asian and Arab countries where most African athletes are competing,” he said.
On CAA collaboration with some Asian nations, Kalkaba noted that a contract was signed since 2017 and could not be implemented.
But he assured that efforts were being directed towards reviving some of the agreements.
“We need Asia and they need Africa, in the area of provision of sponsorship for facility development and more.
“The CAA is anxious to keep African athletes in the continent making money and feeling good,” he said.
Kalkaba appreciated Nigeria for coming to the aide of CAA for accepting to host the 3rd edition of CAA athletics Championships, and beckoned on others to emulate Nigeria
