The Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) needs Shs 5.1bn from the government to successfully host the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championship.
Dominic Otuchet, the president of the federation said in an interview on Tuesday that they still need a lot of financial support from the government to be able to have the March 26 event in Kampala.
Otuchet said the government has only released Shs 860m which has been used to book hotels for athletes and the staff of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
The official also said although the world athletics body will cater for some of the costs, the bigger costs must be catered for by the Ugandan government and sponsors.
The junior men’s race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championship in China in 2015
Last year Uganda beat Bahrain for the honour of hosting the biennial event, which will take place on March 26 at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds. Over 700 athletes and several journalists are expected to attend.
Besides the government of Uganda contributing towards the championship, local sponsors and the IAAF will also contribute financially towards the event which comes to the East African region for the second time after Kenya also hosted the event in 2007.
Other countries on the continent that have hosted the event previously are; Morocco in 1998, South Africa in 1996 and Morocco in 1975.
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