Africa’s premier athletics event—the continent where track and field is most passionately followed—was held in Ghana last week. The situation into which the nearly 50-year-old event has fallen broke the hearts of core athletics followers.
Ghana, which had hosted the African Games two years ago, failed to provide accurate and consistent competition results during the championship in the capital, Accra—one of the most fundamental elements of any sporting event. Even accredited journalists were unable to access results at the stadium after sessions ended, while the hastily created official website published incomplete and erroneous data.
The results that had been posted minutes after the six-day championship concluded also disappeared once the “live” link was deactivated. Even a day after the competition ended (May 18), only 18 events had been officially reported to World Athletics.
NEED FOR URGENT ACT
The new president, who will replace CAA boss Kalkaba Malboum—who passed away at the very beginning of the event—must ensure the digital transformation that African athletics so desperately lacks in this information age. Otherwise, African athletics has little chance of progressing if it cannot modernise its information flow and technical infrastructure. This renewal must extend beyond the confederation itself and, in the medium term, include the integration of national athletics data from all 54 member countries across Africa.
The television production of the African Athletics Championships, which had once expanded enough to be included in Eurosport’s portfolio back in 2010, has also regressed. The six-day championship was broadcast openly in Ghana and on YouTube, but it fell short in both production quality and data integration.
Restoring the image of the African Athletics Championships is now in Botswana's hands, which will host the event in two years. Having already demonstrated its organisational capability through this year’s World Athletics Relays, the Botswana Athletics Federation may represent an opportunity to return the struggling African Athletics Championships to the level it deserves.
Athleticspodium.com
