MOMBASA, Kenya, Feb 22 Security alerts, bad roads and a struggle to raise funds have preo

MOMBASA, Kenya, Feb 22 (Reuters) Security alerts, bad roads and a struggle to raise funds have preoccupied the city of Mombasa as it prepares to host the world cross country championships next month.

Critics accused the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) of making a sentimental gesture when it awarded the championships to Kenya, a country blessed with phenomenal distance-running talent which had dominated the event for two decades.

Mombasa, Kenya's second largest city, has battled to overcome a succession of hurdles since being selected to host the March 24 championships.

The city on the Indian Ocean was the only candidate still in the running by the time the IAAF announced the venue in November 2005, after rival bidders Florida (U.S.) and Madrid (Spain) had pulled out.

Finance was the first challenge. Kenya, where the average man lives on less than a dollar a day, had hoped to marshal the corporate world to bankroll the event.

The government provided 150 million Kenyan shillings (2.1 million dollar), half the amount required.

The rest was expected to come from corporate sponsors but only a local beer manufacturer, a mobile telephone service provider and the national airline came forward to provide 15 million shillings each in cash or kind, leaving a budget deficit.

The local organising committee was unable to find a title sponsor, who would have been expected to put up $1 million.

MUSLIMS MARCH Security also became an issue when the United States put out a travel alert to its citizens intending to visit Kenya earlier this month, saying there was mounting insecurity in the nation's towns.

Two Americans, a mother and daughter, were among tens of people gunned down in a spate of recent gangland-style murders in the capital, Nairobi.

Kenyan Muslims have threatened to disrupt the championships unless the government frees 23 Muslims they say are being held unfairly at police stations across the country.

Hundreds of Muslims marched in Mombasa last weekend, bringing businesses and traffic to a halt, and community leaders said they would stage another demonstration during the championships unless their demands were met.

Mombasa has had problems in the past, Four years ago, suicide bombers killed three Israelis and 12 Kenyans in an attack on an Israeli-owned hotel.

At the same time, a missile aimed at an Israeli airliner leaving Mombasa airport, missed its target.

Kenyan sports minister Maina Kamanda has dismissed security fears during the world cross-country event, saying ''the government has mobilised all its security apparatus to handle security issues prior to, during and after the world championships.'' IMAGE DRIVE Mombasa has also had to deal with poor infrastructure, dilapidated roads and increasing numbers of beggars and prostitutes on its streets.

Civic authorities mounted a recent drive to clean up the streets and improve the city's image.

Officials moved fast to patch up pot-holed roads within the city and ordered traders to paint their houses or lose their trading licences.

''The world is coming to Mombasa and we are ready for the visitors. We shall showcase this city as a true tourist destination,'' Mombasa mayor Sheikh Ali Shekue said.

''Cross country is coming home,'' John Velzian, an IAAF regional director, declared. His words are being used in all the literature and promotional material for the event.

Mombasa, site of Fort Jesus which was built in the 19th century by Portuguese travellers who pioneered trade along the Indian Ocean coast, will be the fourth African city to host the world championships after Rabat, Morocco (1975), Cape Town, South Africa (1996) and Marrakech, Morocco (1998).

Short-course races have been dropped from the programme this year, and the championships have been reduced to a single day.

REUTERS AY VC1008