NAAZ await World Athletics clarification

ikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter

THE National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe is eagerly awaiting for an explanation from World Athletics on the criteria to be used to distribute the US$500 000 meant to assist professional athletes affected by inactivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week the custodians of world athletics announced they had availed the fund,  together with the International Athletics Foundation, to support professional athletes experiencing financial hardships due to the pandemic that has jammed all competitions globally.

World Athletics, through their president Sebastian Coe, said the money will be used to bail out athletes who have lost income in the last few months due to the suspension of international competitions.

Coe, who also chairs the IAF, will lead an expert multi regional working group to assess the applications for assistance that will be submitted to the World Athletics’ six area associations.

The working group will meet to establish a process for awarding and distributing grants to individual athletes and to look at other ways to raise additional money for the fund.

“We are awaiting for further unpacking of the criteria of how and who qualifies for assistance. The key word there is professional athletes.

‘’We want World Athletics to give us guidance as to determine who will benefit,” said NAAZ president Tendai Tagara.

NAAZ froze a number of competitions to, at least September this year, while Zimbabwean athletes, who were looking forward to competing on the international scene, were also affected.

The World Half Marathon, which was supposed to be held in Poland on March 19 has been rescheduled to September 7, provided they pandemic would have been contained then.

The Africa Junior and Senior Championships were also moved to June 2021.

The biggest sporting competition in the world, the Olympics, has been postponed to next year.

The Olympics had never been postponed in peacetime in their 124 history, although they were cancelled in 1916, 1940 and 1944 due to World War One and Two.