CAA: President since 2003, Kalkaba Malboum wants yet another term at 72

The president of the African Athletics Confederation (CAA) has no intention of giving up his seat. Cameroonian Hamad Kalkaba Malboum plans to seek another term at the continental body's next elective Congress. It will be held on the sidelines of the African Under-18 and Under-20 Combined Championships, scheduled for 19 to 23 April 2023 in Lusaka (Zambia). Elected in 2019 at the CAA's 28th Congress in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, he feels his current term has left some unfinished business.

"One more term, then hand over the baton"

The 72-year-old sees life as a relay race. For him, handing over the baton in conditions that stop the race from reaching a fitting finish is out of the question. "If I stop now, I will feel I haven't finished my race. That is why I think it would be good to carry on, if possible, for one more term, see it through, then hand over the baton in good conditions, as was the case for me with my elders," he said in an interview with Cameroon's national radio.

At the previous Congress, the CAA president had a 2019-2029 ten-year plan adopted. The document is modelled on World Athletics (the international federation, editor's note), takes African specificities into account and sets new directions for the global athletics movement. However, the plan's implementation was hampered until 2021 by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

During that period, the president of the Cameroon Olympic and Sports Committee also regrets, it was not possible to stage competitions on the continent. So these are the "lost" years that the head of athletics in Africa wants to make up for with a new term. "I don't feel comfortable leaving the African Athletics Confederation like this, without properly handing over to the new generation in good conditions," he insists.

New impetus

Hamad Kalkaba Malboum wants to improve good governance practices within the CAA, as well as the search for financial resources and the integration of e-learning into training modules, etc. If re-elected, the man who has led the CAA since 2003 intends to ensure that African athletes can take part in paid competitions. The aim is to allow them to support themselves during their competitive careers, and also to look forward to a peaceful retirement. The CAA, which is headquartered in Dakar, brings together the athletics federations of nearly 53 African countries.

Arthur Wandji