The Africa cross country championship will take place on March 12, 2016 at the Yaounde Golf Club.

Cameroon has decidedly become a privileged venue for hosting of sports competitions. After the Olympic qualifiers in volleyball and boxing, it will be the turn of the athletics federation to host an event of international magnitude. The Africa cross country championship will take place at the Yaounde golf club on March 12, 2016.

The information was made public by the president of the Confederation of African Athletics, Colonel Hamad Kalkaba Malboum in a press conference yesterday at the conference hall of the National Olympic and Sports Committee. Colonel Hamad Kalkaba Malboum said it is the first time Cameroon will be hosting the bi-annual competition which enters the 4^th edition this year.

The competition is expected to bring together over 250 athletes from about forty African countries. He disclosed that the race will be in the senior, cadet and junior categories in both the men and women’s series. The men senior race will be a relay over a distance of 12km wit very team covering 4km while the women’s senior category will be run over a distance of 8km. the junior race will cover six kilometres for women and 8km for men and there will be a combined relay race with team classification at the end.

The president of the Cameroon Athletics Federation, Emmanuel Motomby Mbome, said everything was set for the race to take place as the race course has been measured and marked already and the race officials designated also. On the sporting side, he said some 16 athletes will be retained to defend the national colours from among the lot that will go into camp as from February 27^th. The athletes, he said were selected on the basis of the test race conducted in Kumbo and Yaounde.

Outlining his achievements since elected to the continental body, Colonel Hamad Kalkaba Malboum said Africa has not only witnessed an increase in the number of medals won in international competitions but also an increased number of participation with the number of affiliated countries rising to 54 with South Sudan as the latest member. There has also been increased media attention on CAA events.

He disclosed that there will be a training seminar for journalists prior to the event to be animated by a communication firm that has been hired to manage the event. He announced the intention of CAA and the athletics federation to train both officials and athletes as part of the development programme for the sports discipline in Cameroon.