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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (Naaz) has started negotiations with its Botswana counterpart over the possibility of holding two qualifying events for the international meets set for later this year.

Naaz president Tendai Tagara said hosting qualifying events in Botswana and Zimbabwe under strict Covid-19 protocols will save both countries substantial amounts in their pursuit to get their athletes to qualify for the Africa Senior Championships, World Junior Championships and Tokyo Olympics.

Algeria is set to host the Africa Senior Championships from June 1-10, with the Olympics set for July, while Kenya will be hosts of the World Junior Championships in August.

“We’ve planned to hold three major competitions by May with the view of using them as qualifiers for the international meets. We will also set Africa senior qualifying standards so that we prepare for Algeria. The competition should not be more than two hours. If the worst comes to the worst, athletes will attend on invitation, of which junior and senior selectors will determine the top 16 athletes in the 100m,” said Tagara.

“If we get clearance, we want to invite Botswana athletes so that we push each other. They (Botswana) can also host another event as a build-up to these international competitions because we’re already running out of time for athletes to prepare for them,” he said.

Naaz has already applied to the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) for permission to hold three major events by March 20.

Naaz was forced to cancel the national cross-country competition scheduled for February 20 in Kadoma after failing to get an exemption from the SRC.

Tagara said they hope to get permission to hold three events in Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare.

“Covid-19 has really affected our calendar. We are almost done with a document that we’ll send to the SRC for consideration. We’ve lost out on the cross-country and because we have the Olympics, Africa Senior Championships and World Junior Championships coming up between June and August, we want to hold a qualification race at White City Stadium where we have electronic timers.

“All Covid-19 protocols will be observed if we get clearance. We proved that we can host safe events last year when we were cleared to host a track event at White City Stadium,” said Tagara.

The World Athletics Cross-Country Championships had been set for March 20, but it was postponed to February 2022 in Bathurst, Australia. — @ZililoR