NAIROBI, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Africa Athletics Championships in Algiers from July 5 will serve as the last qualifying event for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) on Monday confirmed Algeria as the next host of the continental championship taking the baton from Nigeria.

CAA President Melboune Kalkaba said the stakes of the competition are quite high, as it will be one of the last opportunities for the continent's athletes to achieve qualifying standards for the 2020 Olympic Games.

"It will be the last opportunity for anyone chasing qualification time for the Olympics and this will certainly inspire top performances," Kalkaba said in a statement.

CAA made a recent tour of the venue for the championships with CAA Director General Lamine Faty giving it a clean bill of health.

"We are satisfied," said Faty. "Each time Algeria commits to organize an African competition, we know that everything will be perfect thanks to the human resources and other capacities at its disposal. To keep it short, we have always found what we are looking for in Algeria."

Algeria will be hosting the championships for the third time, after Annaba in 1988 and Algiers in 2000. Enditem

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