World Athletics Vice President hails Ghana’s hospitality, Africa’s rising athletic power

By Oluwatobiloba Zeal-Adepetu Kumoye in Accra

  

  

  

Vice President of World Athletics, Adille Sumariwalla, has showered praises on Ghana for its warmth and organisation of the 2026 Senior Africa Athletics Championship despite the initial technical hiccups that was resolved after the second day of completion.

He described the level of competition during the championship stating that the continent continues to prove its worth as a major force in global athletics.

Sumariwalla made this statement in an exclusive interview with FIRST ZEALMEDIACAST BLOG's Oluwatobiloba Zeal-Adepetu Kumoye.

He described his stay in Ghana as being “wonderful,” while describing Africans as kind, hospitable and welcoming people.

He noted that his recent visits to Nigeria, Botswana and Ghana had further reinforced his belief in the strength of athletics on the continent, saying the performances he had witnessed were outstanding.

“Africa is always welcoming, lovely people, very kind, very hospitable people,” he said. “But not only that, the level of athletics in Africa is outstanding. Here we saw outstanding performances, in Botswana the same thing, with world records being broken.”

Sumariwalla said the continent is rich with raw talent, stressing that all athletes need is the right opportunity to flourish.

He stressed that the talent will always emerge from the grassroots, and once that talent is properly supported, progress becomes natural and automatic.

He further explained that Africa has the capacity to host major global sporting events, citing Botswana’s successful staging of the World Relays as proof of the continent’s growing capability.

“The World Relays in Botswana was the best ever for me,” he said. “All Africa has to do is to convince people that they have what it takes. Botswana can do it, every other place can do it.”

Sumariwalla said the next ambition should be for Africa to host the World Championships, insisting that the continent has already shown enough quality, capacity and organisation to take that bold step.