Francis Mutuku has told Kenya's athletes "the goal remains the same" after the postponement of the Accra 2023 African Games ©Getty Images

National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) secretary general Francis Mutuku has told the country's athletes that "the goal remains the same" following the postponement of the African Games in Ghana's capital Accra.

The multi-sport event was due to take place from August 4 to 19 this year, but has been delayed until March 8 to 23 2024 because of economic pressures, delays in preparations and disagreements between the African Union (AU), Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and Association of African Sports Confederations (AASC).

Mutuku said the NOCK would monitor the impact this has on qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics, but urged athletes to remain focused.

"The National Olympic Committee of Kenya is following the developments closely including possible new events hosted by confederations in Africa as qualifier events which our athletes can participate in," he commented, as reported by the state-run Kenya Broadcasting Corporation.

"Our message to Kenyan athletes is that the field may change but the goal remains the same."

Economic issues in Ghana were one of the reasons for the postponement of the Accra 2023 African Games until March next year ©Getty Images
Economic issues in Ghana were one of the reasons for the postponement of the Accra 2023 African Games until March next year ©Getty Images

An agreement between the AU, ANOCA and AASC was reached last month in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa to establish an Ad-Hoc Technical Committee to oversee preparations for the African Games.

However, the build-up to the Games has been overshadowed by an economic crisis in Ghana which prompted calls for the event to be cancelled.

The International Monetary Fund agreed a $3 billion (£2.5 billion/€2.8 billion) bailout in December to help stabilise the economy.

The delayed Games, which have never previously been held in Ghana, are still set to be known as Accra 2023.

Kenya has competed at every edition of the African Games since the inaugural version in Brazzaville in 1965, and finished seventh on the medals table at Rabat 2019 with 11 golds, 10 silvers and 10 bronzes.