Diack says ‘goodbye’ to athletics

By Eddie Akalonu IAAF President Lamine Diack who opened the Continental Cup in Marrakech, Morocco yesterday said that the event will be his last as he prepares to step down next summer. “I feel like Morocco is my home but I feel sad that this is my last Continental Cup as President. We have two good candidates for the next edition in 2018, Bydgoszcz (Poland) and Ostrava (Czech Republic), if I am physically capable I will be at the next Cup, but only as a spectator,” said Diack, noting that he will stand down next summer from the role at the head of the sport’s global governing body that he has occupied since 1999. “I have been involved in the Continental Cup, and its predecessor, the World Cup from the start. It’s an event in which Africa has had success in the past. I remember well the first event in 1977, in Montreal, so I feel very close to this event.” The IAAF World Cup evolved into the IAAF Continental Cup after a decision by the IAAF Council in November 2008 and the first edition of the new format competition was held four years ago in the Croatian city of Split. The Cup is the third IAAF World Athletics Series event to be held in Marrakech, confirming its status as the home of athletics in Morocco, following a memorable IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 1998 and then the 2005 IAAF World Youth Championships. The subject matter, in the wake of the two recently concluded 2014 IAAF Diamond League finals, quickly changed away from the IAAF World Athletics Series to one-day meetings. Marrakech currently stages a successful annual IAAF World Challenge meeting and President Diank was asked whether he could one day see an IAAF Diamond League meeting being staged in Marrakech. “We (the IAAF) trust Morocco and think that Morocco could potentially organise such an event,” he replied. “At an African level whenever there is something big in athletics you begin by thinking about Morocco. There is no competition that Morocco would not be capable of organising.” Such words came as encouragement to Abbdelsaalem Ahizoune, President of the Royal Moroccan Athletics Federation and head of the Cup local organising committee, and there is no IAAF Diamond League meeting currently staged on African soil. “I have to say I was expecting President Diack to say to me, ‘you should look at this, or look at that,’ and he hasn’t done so yet, so I take that as a good sign about the organisation. “This is a fantastic city that attracts tourists from around the world, it is a city of culture and the people of Marrakech are renowned for their joy. The city of Marrakech deserves this attention,” said Ahizoune. “For this Cup I am expecting a good attendance. For the African Championships (in August) there were some problems attracting the public, it was the holiday season and athletics is not football. However, this event has a higher profile,” he added. Marrakech’s Grade Stade, the venue for the Cup, has a capacity of 41,325. - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/diack-says-goodbye-athletics/#sthash.GKzu42XL.dpuf