Botswana Ready To Host Africa
More than 2,000 athletes from 30 African countries are expected in Botswana capital, Gaborone for the 10th Africa Junior Athletics Championships (AJAC) that kicks off in the Southern African nation today.
Botswana has spent months preparing to host the event and according to the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) president, Solly Reikeletseng, it is all systems go after all the intense preparations.
Initially, the tournament was supposed to be held at the 30,000 capacity National Stadium but had to be moved to the University of Botswana (UB) stadium as the other facility is still undergoing renovations.
Reikeletseng, in a release, said that despite some challenges they faced in preparations, they are confident of hosting a successful event.
"Obviously there will always be problems. Early this week, we had a problem with accommodation because some countries had arrived earlier than expected, but that was sorted out," he explained.
"We know we will make it. We did our best to renovate the UB Stadium to suit the event," he stressed. The stadium was closed three weeks ago to lay a new track as the previous was considered worn out for the continental youth showpiece.
Reikeletseng said that even some countries that did not confirm participation have arrived.
Botswana is hosting the tournament for the first time and will be represented by 58 athletes and hopes to use home advantage to win more medals. The championships will be officially opened today and will run till Sunday, 15th May.
The CAA African Junior Athletics Championships is a biennial Africa athletics event organized by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA). It was first held in 1994, only athletes under 21 years are allowed to compete.
The 2010 edition was hosted in Bambous in Mauritius.
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