The Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) inspected the University of Ghana Sports Stadium on Thursday, April 9, 2026, ahead of the 2026 Africa Senior Athletics Championship.
The delegation, led by CAA Chief Executive Officer Lamine Fati and Head of TV Production Melinda Lomba, assessed competition venues and related facilities.
Fati lauded the Ghanaian government’s commitment to hosting a successful championship. “I want to thank the Ghanaian government for all the arrangements and facilities given to us to make our mission successful. We are here to inspect all facilities and arrangements made by the LOC to ensure these championships are very successful,” he said.
The CAA team also toured designated hotels for athletes, officials, and guests. “We spent the morning touring the hotels where our people will be accommodated — the athletes first, then officials and guests. We are very satisfied. We saw very good facilities in all the hotels we visited. On that issue, we have no concerns,” Fati noted.
On anti-doping, he added: “We had a very good discussion with NADO here in Ghana and were provided with very useful information. This coordination will continue with our anti-doping delegates. So far, we are very satisfied.”
Fati confirmed that logistics were on track. “We also discussed international transportation, and we’ve been told that all reservations will be completed by this week. From now, we can consider ourselves ready to go. We haven’t finished our inspection yet — there are still a few issues to address — but overall, we are looking forward to a very successful competition.”
Drawing on past experience, he expressed confidence in Ghana’s ability to deliver. “We know what this country can do. We were here a few years ago for the African Games and experienced very good collaboration with Ghanaians, both officials and administrative staff. We had very successful events then, and we are in the same mood now. We hope to have the same conditions for performance.”
Ghana Athletics President Bawah Fuseini described Fati as both approachable and uncompromising. “I know him. He’s my friend, but he’s very strict about his work. Regardless of our friendship, if he sees something that isn’t correct, he will tell me directly: ‘Bawah, we cannot accept this one.’ He has given us very good advice so far,” Fuseini said.
He added: “We had a very productive meeting at the ministry with the LOC. Today, we’re at the stadium for him to check our technical equipment, inspect the track, and review the offices we’re allocating for CAA staff when they arrive in Accra.”
The 2026 African Senior Athletics Championships will run from May 12 to 17, 2026, at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium.
