Mauritius to stage Africa junior athletics meet

Mauritius has been selected to replace South Africa as the host of the Africa Junior Athletics Championships.

The Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) has confirmed that Reduit City in Mauritius will be the next stop for the biennial championships, replacing Johannesburg, which pulled out after Athletics South Africa was suspended for financial misappropriation by the country's Olympic body, reports Xinhua.

"Following the cancellation of the African Junior Championships in South Africa, the CAA has officially designated Mauritius to hold the 11th African Junior Championships from Aug 29 to Sep 2," CAA said in a statement Monday.

CAA was shopping for an alternative host of Africa Junior Athletics Championships after suspending South Africa over government interference. Johannesburg was due to stage the championships from June 27 to July 1.

David Okeyo, the CAA vice president said they could not hold any event in South Africa since the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) does not recognise the interim board of administrators selected to run the sport.

South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) suspended its athletics body officials in May.

Athletics South Africa (ASA) was placed under administration and its president James Evans and the ASA board suspended for "serious financial irregularities and autocratic leadership within the organisation".

South Africa replaced Rwanda and Gabon as alternative host after the two countries failed to meet the required organisational demands for the championships.