MBABANE — Eswatini, host of the 7th African Cross-Country Championships, will begin squad selection this month for the continental showpiece.
The championships are scheduled for March 20, 2027, following a series of Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) meetings leading up to the competition. The championship returns after a three-year break.
The announcement was made by Eswatini Local Organising Committee Public Relations Officer Lington Gule.
Gule said the trials will get under way on October 31 in Manzini, followed by a second trial hosted in the Shiselweni Region at KaMethula Inkhundla on November 28.
The championships form part of a four-day CAA programme that includes the CAA Council Meeting on March 17, the Elective Congress on March 18 and a technical meeting on March 19.
The elective congress follows the death of long-serving CAA President Hamad Kalkaba Malboum of Cameroon in May this year
The CAA stated that the return of the championships will give African federations another major platform for cross-country runners as they prepare for the 2027 season, the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, China, and the 2028 Olympic Games.
Seven events will make up the programme, contested over the following approximate distances at a venue yet to be disclosed:
Senior Men: 10km
U20 Men: 8km
U18 Men: 6km
Senior Women: 10km
U20 Women: 6km
U18 Women: 4km
Mixed relay (two men, two women): 4 loops
