Filbert Bayi has called for Africans to prepare now for Paris 2024 ©Getty Images

Tanzania Olympic Committee's (TOC) secretary general Filbert Bayi has called on nations across Africa to prepare as early as possible for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, to ensure it is a successful cycle for the continent.

Bayi, the former world and Commonwealth Games record holder in the men's 1,500 metres, said he was focusing on identifying strategic plans for the Association of the National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) ahead of the Paris 2024 Games.

"The main thing was to check how best we are going to implement our strategic plans, because a country may have good plans, but it gets stuck in the implementation," said Bayi, according to Tanzanian publication, the Citizen Reporter.

"Therefore each country contributed to long-term and short-term strategic plans ahead of the international competitions as well as addressing the challenges of implementing those plans."

Filbert Bayi is a former world and Commonwealth champion ©Getty Images
Filbert Bayi is a former world and Commonwealth champion ©Getty Images

The former world champion urged all nations to begin work towards the Paris 2024 Olympics as soon as possible, with the event scheduled to run from July 26 to August 11 2024.

ANOCA President Mustapha Berraf met Bayi at the ANOCA general meeting for general secretaries in Sierra Leone, where he received a copy of the runner's new book Catch Me If You Can, detailing his life from living in his local village to winning world gold.