IAAF President Express Delight at Election of Prof. Dodoo

IAAF President, Lamine Diack has expressed his support and delight at the election of Professor Francis Dodoo as the first ever elected Chairman of the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA). In a letter to Prof. Dodoo, the IAAF President acknowledged that Dodoos election indicates strong support and a clear indication of the appreciation and respect that he has within the athletics community in Ghana. Furthermore, President Diack said: I would like to take this opportunity to wish you the best of success in your new position and to assure you that we remain at your disposal for any assistance you may require.

Professor Dodoos national and international accomplishments, on and off the field, are impressive. He is a former national triple jump record holder and currently holds one of the longest standing continental records; the 23 year old All-African Games triple jump record at 17.12m. Professor Dodoo is the Director of the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS) at the University of Ghana.

Reached for comment, Professor Dodoo said he simply wanted to return to work with his colleagues so they could continue to develop the youth pipeline of athletes and keep working to improve the state of the sport as a whole. In addition, he stressed the need for accountability and transparency in GAA activities. Given the abysmal financial situation of GAA, Dodoo stressed that the incoming executive body needs to address the financial inconsistencies they inherited from the previous administration and get down to the serious business of fundraising to support development and competitive programs.