Incumbent President of the Confederations of African Athletics,(CAA) Cameroonian -born Hamad Kalkaba Malboum is vying for yet another term office as the president of the continental athletics house, he is closely contested by his subordinate, Vice President of the CAA, Former President of the Nigerian Athletic Federation, Shehu Ibrahim Gusau. The two influential athletic administrators will know their fate during the 2023 Elective Congress of the Confederations of African Athletics on Thursday, April 27 when the day-2 assembly opens in Lusaka, Zambia
Hamad Kalkaba Malboum’s interest has been backed by Cameroon’s number one sports fan, President Paul Biya while Shehu Ibrahim Gusau declared his intentions during Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the federation in Nigeria to seek for nomination and an endorsement by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria. The former Nigerian lawmaker will be the first Nigerian in over two decades to vie to be President of CAA.
Knowing the Candidates
Following the exit of Senegal’s Lamine Diack as IAAF president, Hamad Kalkaba Malboum became the most influential athletic administrator in Africa and took office as the President of the CAA in 2003, a post he has held till date after being re-elected in 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019 in Abidjan, Cote D’ivoire, an ongoing tenure he notes has been difficult with resurgence of the COVID19 in 2020 though he struggled some activities with the participation of African athletes at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan
The Presidential aspirant with the CAA is the current President of the Cameroon National Olympic and Sports Committee, CNOSC, Board Member of the National Sports Office affiliated with International Military Sports Council (CISM), head of the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA), Vice President of the International Athletic Federation and bureau member of the Islamic Sports Federations amongst many other functions
His opponent, Nigerian
Shehu Ibrahim Gusau is the Vice President of the CAA voted alongside his contestant in 2019 in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire. He is former President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN.
Gusau late last year, lost in his bid to become President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee after the electoral body for the election rejected his candidature. At the same time, he is the President of the West African zone of the CAA.
Hamad Kalkaba’s Plan of action
His manifesto of 12 pages presents Hamad Kalkaba Malboum as the man of the hour, it also presents the priorities, finances and multiple development activities for the CAA that he seeks to represent again
Hamad Kalkaba Malboum believes the reason he has been at the helm of the CAA for some twenty years is due to the satisfaction of many who continuously lend him a hand of confidence through their votes.This time, he has a plan that will not only reinforce and give a facelift to Confederations of African Athletics but he will in his long time managerial skills ensure development and peace in all facets of the structure
# Design and adopt control on internal measures for the Confederation
# Ensure continuity by sourcing finances to implement a global programme
# Make sure every member country has a modern athletics training center. This according to the sports actor will help breed athletics of world standing that will not only mount podiums but will harvest medals for the continent
# To make sure there are performant indicators and assessment processes in each, national championship to be strictly controlled by good administrations, good governance and competencies will be set up in all countries.
# To ensure that the facilities are in place and encourage African Athletes not to flee to other already established sport sectors in other countries like in Europe, the Cameroonian says he will oversee the modernisation of the Athletics domain, one of the most performing sports in the world.
He promises a bright future for the Confederation, if he is re-elected as president of the Athletics powerhouse.
The Elective Congress
The Elective Congress to be organised for two days in Lusaka, Zambia as from this Thursday, April 27, 2023 for the Elective General Assembly in Lusaka, Zambia will be carried out in compliance of the Confederation of African Athletics constitution updated and adopted in 2017, which states that the elective assembly will be only and solely for the President of the CCA.
The congress comes on the margin of the ongoing championships in the
North of Zambia in Ndola where the U-18/U-20 African Championships will kick-off as from April 28 to May 3 2023. Four Cameroonians are taking part in the Ndola double Championships
Benly Anchunda
@anchunda_benly
