Nairobi will host the World Athletics Championships in 2029, beating off competition from London, Munich and Rome to become the first African hosts, World Athletics announced on Tuesday after a council meeting in Budapest. The 2031 championships will be held in Munich, track and field’s governing body said.

“We were fortunate to have four outstanding bids for 2029 and 2031, and this was not an easy decision for the Council,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe told a press conference. The 2027 event has already been awarded to Beijing. “This council decision today means we’re able to deliver our World Athletics Championships in Asia, Africa, and Europe over its next three editions,” the Briton added.

“Taking our championships to Africa for the first time will be historic. Nairobi has presented a compelling and emotional bid,” Coe said. He added: “It was important that the world championship should come to Africa when we had the right host, the right bid, and the right circumstances. Nairobi has demonstrated emphatically that this is their moment to supercharge the development of our sport in Kenya and across Africa, leaving a compelling legacy that inspires a continent.”

Kenya, which failed with a bid for the 2025 world championships, has previously hosted the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, the World Under-18 Championships in Nairobi in 2017, and the World Under-20 Championships in the capital in 2021. Nairobi also staged the 2010 African Athletics Championships.

“Having also been part of the bidding process for 2025, the (Nairobi) team understood and grasped what was required, and came back with a stronger proposition, and a renovated Kasarani Stadium, which is currently undergoing a complete overhaul ahead of hosting the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027,” said Coe.

Source: www.aljazeera.com