Four top officials of the Confederation of Africa Athletics (CAA), will on Saturday morning inspect facilities for the forthcoming Africa U18 and U20 Athletics Championship scheduled to hold in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The visiting delegates, led by CAA Director General, Lamine Faty, has CAA Technical and Development Director, Aziz Daouda as well as the duo of Lombard Melinda Amana and Maraire Munyaradzi Nkosasa Wilbert. They started arriving the country on Wednesday.

Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC) Hon. Bukola Olopade, who is the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the Africa U18/U20 Athletics Championships, said on Friday that the delegates will inspect the MKO Abiola Sports Complex in Abeokuta as well as the hotels and medical facilities earmarked to be use by athletes and officials during the competition.  

The city of Abeokuta was selected as host city for the 3rd CAA African U18/U20 Combined Championships from July 16-20, 2025. The biennial junior athletics championships is expected to draw more than 500 young competitors from the continent to the West African nation.

The Guardian, learnt on Friday, that contrary to some online reports, the President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Chief Tonobok Okowa was excluded from the list of LOC members announced on Wednesday by the NSC for the Africa U18/20 Championships because Nigeria is one of the competitors in the games.

“As one of the competing countries, the AFN President can’t be in the LOC that will organise such an event.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for this Africa U18/20 Athletics Championships was signed between CAA, NSC and Ogun State government.

It has nothing to do with the AFN. The Director-General of the NSC nominated virtually all members of the LOC and not the AFN President as reported by an online media,” an official revealed on Friday.