The Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Council met yesterday in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Several important resolutions were adopted at the end of the meeting.

The Council encourages the amendment of the World Athletics (WA) Constitution and supports the principle of term limits for Council members and Area Association Presidents, but rejects retro-activity in the implementation of the new reform.

After Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) in 2019 and Ndola (Zambia) in 2023, it is now Abeokuta (Nigeria)'s turn to host the third edition of the Confederation of African Athletics' combined U18/U20 Championships. The capital of Ogun State in southwestern Nigeria will host the continent's rising stars of athletics from July 16 to 20, 2025.

Double Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet became the first woman in history to cover 5000m inside 14 minutes, clocking a world record of 13:58.06 at the Prefontaine Classic – a Wanda Diamond League meeting – in Eugene on Saturday (5).

The Kenyan, returning to the scene of her world 10.000m record from last year, was tracked for most of the race by Gudaf Tsegay, who held the world record prior to today, and Agnes Jebet Ngetich.

"Morocco honors Africa by hosting the African leg of the Diamond League"

The President of the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA), Hamad Kalkaba Malboum, expressed his delight at the sight of "this beautiful Olympic stadium, reliable and equipped to host major competitions like the Diamond League, which took place on Sunday, May 25, 2025, in Rabat."

"The Kingdom of Morocco honors Africa by hosting the African leg of the Diamond League thanks to the Mohammed VI International Meeting in Rabat in a state-of-the-art stadium (...). I am very happy for African athletics; I am also happy to know that when Morocco organizes an event, it takes our sport very seriously," he revealed in an exclusive interview on the CAA website (www.caaweb.org).

Diamond League

Chebet and El Bakkali Shine in Rabat

Kenyan Beatrice Chebet delivered an exceptional performance in the women's 3000m at the Diamond League in Rabat (May 25, 2025), completing the distance in 8:11.56 to erase the African record of 8:16.60 set by Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba in 2014. Chebet thus becomes the second-best female performer in history, behind China's Wang Junxia, ​​who has held the world record of 8:06.11 since 1993.

South Africa proved they will be a powerful force at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo as they stormed to the men’s 4x100m title at the World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25 on Sunday (11).

Ahead of the competition, South African sprint star Akani Simbine had expressed how camaraderie is the key when it comes to relay success. His squad’s team spirit was on show in Guangzhou again on Sunday evening, as the world indoor 60m bronze medallist combined with Bayanda Walaza, Sinesipho Dambile and Bradley Nkoana to run a world lead of 37.61 – just 0.04 off the African record South Africa set when securing Olympic silver in Paris.

The African Athletics Confederation informs that the Council, Congress, and the 3rd Combined U18/U20 African Championships, which were scheduled to take place in Oran, Algeria, will no longer take place in that country for various reasons.

Tebogo delighted home fans at the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix by easing to a dominant 200m victory at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Gaborone on Saturday (12). The Olympic champion's compatriots Bayapo Ndori, Oratile Nowe and Kethobogile Haingura were also roared on to victory at the National Stadium, while South Africa’s Akani Simbine stormed to 100m success and USA’s Dalilah Muhammad clinched a clear 400m hurdles win.

The World Athletics Council confirmed the hosts for three World Athletics Series events and made a series of other decisions during the 237th World Athletics Council Meeting in Nanjing, China, on 24-25 March.