World Athletics president hails Ghana's preparations for African Athletics Championships

The President of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, has commended the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for their efforts in preparing for the 2026 African Athletics Championships.

The 2026 edition will take place at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium from May 12–17, 2026, featuring top athletes from across the African continent. The opening ceremony is scheduled for Monday, May 11.

Speaking ahead of the competition, Coe expressed his admiration for the LOC’s preparations and said he looks forward to a successful event.

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He also congratulated Ghana Athletics Association (GAA) President Bawa Fuseini for his efforts and for the qualification of Ghana’s 4x100 relay team to the 2027 World Athletics Championships.

“But if I may just thank you, Bawa, for the amount of work alongside the LOC. These things don’t come together because it’ll be all right on the night, or because we get lucky. I know there have been many months of preparation. I also know your national championships were a huge success, and again, congratulations because your team qualified for Beijing for the 2027 World Championships in Gaborone just a few days ago,” he said.

Sebastian Coe added that Africa remains vital on the global stage due to its successes in hosting athletics championships and emphasized that more events should be staged on the continent.

“Your continent has contributed such a monumental element to our history in the last 50 years, and at World Athletics, the very fact that all four vice presidents are here shows how important Africa is to us. We want more events here, and we want to give you the opportunity to build local knowledge and human capacity in taking these events forward.

The Area Championships are a really important element in showcasing our sport, and even the world ranking points for our Area Championships have now been elevated," he added.

Watch the video below:

"It is very important that every area presents world-class events and that will attract the athletes."

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe speaks ahead of the African Athletics Championship.#ghanaweb#ghanawebtv pic.twitter.com/H4EfucTL0n

— GhanaWeb (@TheGhanaWeb) May 11, 2026