By John Kwoba
NAIROBI, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Confederation of Africa Athletics (CAA) has awarded Tanzania the rights to host the 2020 African Cross Country Championships.
Kenya had pulled out of the bidding to allow neighbors Tanzania the sole opportunity to stage the biannual competition.
CAA president Ahmad Melboum Kalkaba said the event had come on leaps and bounds, adding that it will be good for it to return to East Africa, with athletes from Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia having dominated recent proceedings.
"Kampala and Mombasa have hosted the World Cross Country Championships and Nairobi has also hosted the African Championships. Now it is the turn of Tanzania to welcome Africa to their turf," said Kalkaba on Saturday.
One of the organizing committee's first tasks will be to decide which city will host the competition, with Arusha and Dar es Salaam in the running to stage the event.
Kenya ruled the roost the last two times that the World Championships were staged in East Africa in Kampala, Uganda in 2017 and Mombasa in 2007.
At last year's African Cross Country Championships in Cameroon's capital of Yaounde, Kenya and Ethiopia shared the spoils, and Kalkaba believes this trend will continue when the continent meets in Tanzania in 2020.
