Thursday 21st November, 2019
Accra, Nov. 20, GNA
– The much awaited first ever Africa Paralympic Games scheduled for Rabat,
Morocco next year has been cancelled.
This follows the
decision of Morocco to reverse its decision over the hosting of the event after
initial agreement.
The Games, which has
over the years been part of the main African Games was separated to give para
sports exclusivity, has hit a snag.
The Para Games was
expected to serve as qualifiers for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
In a letter
addressed to the National Paralympic Committees (NPC’s) from the Africa
Paralympic Committee (APC) and signed by Mr. George Schlachtenberger Executive
Director of APC, it said “as you all know we had a signed detailed contract with
the Moroccan Sports Ministry, but after a change of the Minister two weeks ago,
we were informed that the Kingdom of Morocco would not organize the games in
2020.
“It`s a shock to all
of us. We are totally disappointed, as we never expected this decision after
all the hard work.
“Since we received
this information, we are looking for solutions to organize the games in a
different country or at least ensure that our African athletes would have
qualification opportunities for the Tokyo Paralympic Games,” it stated.
The letter said
there is still the chance, that another country could be the host of the games
in March 2020. This would still be within the qualification period of the Tokyo
2020 qualification guide.
“If the country will
not accept, we need to identify opportunities for those sports with
qualification opportunities for the Tokyo Games,” it added.
GNA
