By Modupe Oremule
Omatseye Nesiama, a Technical Official in the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), has been invited by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) to officiate at the upcoming U-18 and U-20 championships.
The championships are scheduled to hold from April 16 to April 20 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
In an interview on Tuesday in Lagos Nesiama said that he was ever ready to contribute his quota to the development of athletics nationally, continentaly and globally.
A letter signed by Lamine Faty, the Director-General of CAA, said that Nesiama, who is also a former Technical Director of Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), had been appointed to officiate in the competitions.
The letter says: “I have the pleasure to inform you that you have been appointed by the CAA as ITO on the occasion of the combined Africa U-18 and U-20 Championships to be held in Abidjan from April 16 to April 20, 2019.
“In this respect, your transportation will be covered by the Local Organising Committee and an air ticket will be sent to you in due time,” it said.
Nesiama said that he would not hesitate to work with other international technical officials to support the development of athletics in the West African sub-region which has Ibrahim Gusau as its president.
“I want to also work with other ITOs to support the development of competitions in the West African sub-region where our own is the newly elected president,” he said.
The AFN’s former technical director also officiated at the 3rd Youth All Africa Games which held in Algiers in July, 2018.
Nesiama was first appointed into the CAA ITO for a duration of four years (2018 to 2022).
He was the Competition Director for the maiden African Youth Athletics Championships which held in 2013 in Warri; and was adjudged to have set the standard for similar competitions in Africa.
Nesiama is also a Technical Official Level One Lecturer in the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), thus becoming the third Nigerian to attain the status.
Nesiama’s rising profile in international technical officiating got him an invitation as a Resource Person to the refresher course for National Technical Officials in Nigeria on the new IAAF Technical Rules in 2017. (NAN)
