Sports

Amina summons U20 LOC over delays in preparations for next year’s event

Wednesday, November 13th, 2019 04:00 | By
An Aerial view of Kasarani Stadium during the IAAF World Under-18 Championships in 2017. PD/ DAVID NDOLO
An Aerial view of Kasarani Stadium during the IAAF World Under-18 Championships in 2017. PD/ DAVID NDOLO

Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed is due to meet the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for next year’s IAAF World Under-20 Championships to be held in Nairobi.

Her move follows suggestions that Kenya, who hosted a successful World Under-18 Championships two years ago risk been stripped off the hosting rights due to the slow pace of preparations for the Under-20 event.

Amina will be briefed by a team led by Athletics Kenya (AK) president Jackson Tuwei who is also the LOC chairman on the preparations of the championships which were to be completed before November.

The meeting will come barely two weeks before a second delegation from world athletics governing body IAAF arrives in the country for yet another assessment of the facilities, just as they had done early in the year.

In July, Amina assured the country that everything was on track.

“Most of the renovation works were done in 2017 when we hosted the World U18 event. For what was not done then, we still have time and resources to finish up before the deadline of November set by the LOC,” Amina said then.

But even with October having passed and a scheduled LOC meeting failing to take place on Tuesday at the Kasarani Stadium due to lack of quorum, the CS is still upbeat.

“I am not worried that we are going to lose the hosting rights for the junior championships,” Amina said. “It is unfortunate that despite having the track which was to be laid in 2017, it has not been done yet. I remain confident it will be done soon,” she added. 

Tuwei says the IAAF executive director of communication Jackie-Brock Doyle, who led the first tour, is once again expected to make a follow-up on the exercise. During the first visit, the team met then Sports CS Rashid Echesa.

“We had given a deadline that the tartan track at the athletes’ village at Kenyatta University will be laid to the required standards. While it has not been done, I am sure they will appreciate the progress we have made,” said Tuwei.

IAAF chief information officer Dang Duy, technical delegates Gemma Castano and Imre Matrahaz, platforms and distribution operations manager Frederick Sanchez, Mark Fulton and the body’s head of competitions Luis Saladie are the other officials who made the first meeting.

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