African Athletics Championship Cameroon 2024: Chaos in the organisation, athletes cry scandal!

Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, as reported by Lattaquant.com, expressed her dismay as soon as she arrived on social networks. Since then, many athletes have joined her in criticising the difficult conditions at the African Athletics Championships, which kicked off in Cameroon on 21 June. They are mainly critical of the general organisation and logistics, in particular the problems of transport to get to the competition venues or back to their hotels, as well as the emergency calls to take part in events.

Who is to blame?

The Confederation of African Athletics tried to clear its name by blaming the host country, Cameroon, while explaining that the competition was initially due to be held in another stadium. However, Hamad Kalkaba Malboum explained that the competition had to be relocated because of delays in renovating the track at the Reunification stadium.

However, these explanations did not convince the athletes, who continued to report numerous problems. In response, Narcisse Mouellé Kombi, Minister of Sport, promised to rectify the reported shortcomings, stating that despite everything, this edition of the African Athletics Championships was taking place in the best possible conditions. This assertion is strongly contested by the athletes still on site, who will have to show resilience for the remaining two days of the competition.

Moreover, Cyrille Tollo, Minsep’s number 2 technical adviser, has come out to set the record straight on the controversy surrounding this 23rd edition. In the meantime, Day 4 will kick off at 3pm sharp.