Race to beat World Cross Country registration deadline on

The rush is on to beat the deadline for registration for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, with only hours left to the closure of the process. 

"Today is the last day for countries to register their athletes by the name but as of Saturday only 31 had completed the process," said UAF president Domenic Otucet. 

"But we expect not less than 60 countries to beat the deadline because during the preliminary registration, 60 countries signed up. Pulling out comes with a heavy punishment from the IAAF so we expect all of them to confirm". 

Otucet revealed that two other countries - Egypt and Senegal - who had not been part of the preliminary registration have also joined the fray and will be expected to take part in the March 26 race due in Kampala. 

In terms of numbers Otucet estimates that 60 countries translates to around 700 visitors, a major boost to the local economy.  The last Championships, held in China in 2015, attracted 51 countries or 410 athletes. 

The incredible figures are not restricted to the runners, of course. Financially, Uganda will invest as much as sh5b into the event expected to attract a rare measure of world attention to the country.