The four members delegation of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) visited the city of Split last weekend in order to visit the site of the venue and the progress of works and organization of the IAAF/VTB Bank Continental Cup, that will be held on September 04th and 05th in the Poljud stadium in Split.
The organization delegate Jean Pozcobut, the competition coordinator La Tanya Waweru, the technical delegate Luis Saladie and the senior competition manager Carlo de Angeli visited the stadiums Poljud and Park mladeži and also held several meetings with the Local Organizing Committee, after which they concluded that they are very satisfied with the current status and conditions in Split.
“In comparison with our last visit in October of last year, the situation has improved significantly, in particular in the stadium where the works are almost finished. We could see that the athletic field track is soon completed, which is great. I must say that what we have seen so far, we are very happy and content with the technical details of the organization of the first Continental Cup. I personally love the Poljud stadium, because the tribunes are very close to the field and this will give the Cup a special atmosphere”, said the French
Pozcobut, honourable treasurer of the IAAF.
The Continental Cup is a very important competition for the IAAF, because it is the first issue of an entirely new concept of athletic competitions, so that the IAAF doesn’t want to leave any detail open.
Pozcobut therefore clearly emphasized that the organization of the Cup must be at highest possible level.
“The people from the Local Organizing Committee have enough experience from other , big sports events and I am sure that until September every piece of the puzzle will fall into its place. There are still some issues that need to be solved, but we were told that these will be solved until the Cup – like the hotel Radisson Blu that is not open jet and where the highest delegation of the IAAF and the President Lamine Diack are supposed to be accommodated. We have been to the hotel and saw that the works are near completion, so I hope that everything will be finished in time. “
Along with the worries on accommodation facilities for the highest ranking officials of the IAAF, Pozcobut also stressed the problem of TV broadcasting of the competition as a major one. Namely, none of the national TV companies has purchased the broadcasting rights, while contracts were signed with broadcasters from 130 states.
“It is in everybody’s interest to make this Cup available to a maximum number of viewers in Croatia and it is the particular interest of the Local Organizing Committee, that can count onto our full support. We have met people in charge of the production – experts with experience of working on such major sports events, so we are sure that this part of the work will be done at highest level. The Continetal Cup is an event that will be broadcasted all over the world and it is very important that all media representatives have best working conditions;” added Jean Pozcobut.