24th African Senior Athletics Championships : Organisers restore order after chaos

The organisers of the African Senior Athletics Championships were yesterday forced into crisis-management mode after a catalogue of logistical and technical failures threatened to turn Africa’s biggest athletics showpiece into an embarrassing indictment of Ghana’s event-hosting credentials.

What should have been a celebration of elite continental athletics at the University of Ghana Stadium instead was dominated by complaints over food supply, poor accommodation conditions, faulty technical systems, delayed race results, weak television production and inadequate media facilities during the opening two days of competition.

Media backlash

The operational breakdowns triggered fierce criticism from athletes, journalists and officials, with Ghana’s reputation as a dependable host nation suddenly placed under uncomfortable scrutiny.

The backlash, however, appears to have sparked swift action from the organisers who are determined to wrest back control of the narrative before the championships spiralled further into controversy.

Yesterday, there were visible signs of improvement across key operational areas as organisers scrambled to restore confidence in the championship and prevent further reputational damage.

The catering service at the Games Village showed significant improvement, with athletes served a wide variety of meals with no visible signs of the alleged rationing that had sparked outrage earlier in the week. Inside the stadium, electronic clocks were finally installed, allowing athletes, coaches and spectators to instantly view performances and results after events.

Conditions at the media working area also improved considerably, with WiFi connectivity restored and journalists finally receiving starting lists and official event results that had previously been difficult to access.

A Deputy Director-General of the National Sports Authority, Veronica Commey, admitted there had been shortcomings and apologised for the disruptions, attributing many of the problems to power supply issues at the stadium which affected the smooth operation of technical equipment.

She insisted, however, that the most controversial allegation — claims of food rationing at the Games Village — had been independently disproved.

“The earlier report on the issue of the rationing of food has been independently verified to be false,” Ms Commey told journalists at a press conference yesterday, adding that the majority of the issues that initially marred the championship had now been resolved.

One controversy that drew global attention involved South African shot putter, Aiden Smith, whose complaint about inadequate food supply at the Games Village triggered outrage back home and reportedly prompted discussions about relocating Team South Africa to a private hotel.

However, organisers strongly denied the allegations, maintaining that food had always been available in abundance.

That position later received backing from South Africa’s Sports Minister, Gayton McKenzie, who released a statement confirming that the concerns raised had been addressed and that Team South Africa would remain in the official accommodation provided by organisers.

Despite the visible improvements, the early technical failures remain difficult to ignore.

The championships were plagued by repeated delays in the release of official times and race results, undermining the credibility and smooth flow of competitions.

The most embarrassing incident came after Wednesday’s men’s 100 metres final when athletes and spectators waited nearly 20 minutes before official results were confirmed.

There was similar confusion in the women’s 100m final after Nigeria’s Rosemary Chukwuma was initially announced as the winner, only for corrected results to later show that Cameroon’s

Herverge Kole Etame had actually won gold.

Organisers denied suggestions that there had been no functioning timer, insisting instead that a technical malfunction affected the public display system rather than the timing mechanism itself. Officials say the problem has since been resolved and the stadium monitor is now functioning properly.

Safety concerns also emerged dramatically during the pole vault competition when Benin’s Adjagbodjou Sedjo suffered a frightening moment after his pole snapped midair during an attempted jump.

Another South African athlete experienced a similar incident, raising serious concerns about equipment quality and inspection procedures at the competition.

A technical expert later explained to journalists that South Africa’s team had arrived in Ghana without their poles, forcing organisers to improvise arrangements and reschedule parts of the event.

Despite the turbulent start, some visiting athletes told the Daily Graphic yesterday that conditions had improved considerably and that the championships were beginning to stabilise after the early setbacks.

Still, the episode has exposed uncomfortable questions about planning, operational discipline and event delivery standards at a time Ghana is seeking to position itself as a reliable destination for major international sporting events.