Kenya saw off strong bids from Rome- Italy, and London- UK, to win the hosting rights for the 2029 World Athletics Championships.
The win is not only for Kenya but the entire continent, as the global biennial championships will be staged on African soil for the first time in history.
The championship will be hosted at the iconic Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani in September 2029, barely three years from the day Kenya was announced as the host country.
But what are the next steps for both the Kenyan government and the Athletics Kenya federation to ensure the country meets all the thresholds for staging a magnificent global athletics event?
We spoke exclusively to Barnaba Korir, an AK executive committee member, who was also a member of the bidding committee as well as the current National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) First Deputy President, to shed light on the next steps leading up to the actual hosting of the championship.
According to Korir, Kenya learned many lessons after its unsuccessful initial bid to host last year’s championships, which were eventually awarded to Tokyo, Japan.
“Remember that this was not the first time that Kenya was bidding for the World Championships. We did that for 2025. Therefore, we learned the lessons that we went through at that time. The bidding team, which was led by Mr. Ibrahim Hussein and also the leadership of our president, Gen. Tuwei, has been instrumental in ensuring that this bidding was very successful. Remember that the president is also the Vice President of World Athletics and, therefore, the conduct and the work that has been put in place did not start the other day,” said Korir.
In his words, the bidding committee led by former two-time Boston Marathon champion Ibrahim Hussein convinced the World Athletics Council of the potential of the country to host the event.
“The bidding team, of which I’m also a member, led by Ibrahim Hussein, convinced the world by providing all the requirements that were asked for by World Athletics. And of course, on the visit, they were satisfied with what Kenya has done,” added Korir.
What next after being announced as hosts?
Korir, a retired athlete majoring in 1500m, 3000m, 5000m, 10000m, 5km, 15km, and half marathon, revealed that the next step involves the government proving its financial commitment to World Athletics, besides other technical aspects regarding the championships.
“The first thing that Kenya must do, of course, is making sure of the availability of the hosting fee. That is critical as the first step, and the second step, of course, is setting aside the funding for the formation of a local organising committee that will now be taking the baby steps in the systems in place. So those are the critical areas: hosting fee, and then, of course, setting up an LOC,” Korir clarified.
In the build-up process, World Athletics officials are expected to visit the country to assess preparations and ensure the country meets all the set standards in time ahead of the championships.
“The LOC will bring on board also officials from World Athletics that will be assisting, especially on the technical part, to run the event. I think if the funds are available, which of course the government has already secured, we will now be able to organise the event. This is not the first time that we are organising such events,” Korir stated.
Kenya is confident of staging a successful championship after organising world-class events for the under-18 and under-20 in 2017 and 2021 respectively at the Kasarani Stadium.
“We have organized World Athletics Under-18 and Under-20, and it went very well.“So I don’t think there’s anything that’s going to be different than this one. It’s now upon Kenyans to support this project, which is extremely important for the country,” Korir said.d.
A total of 49 track and field events; 24 for men and 24 for women, as well as the 4x400m mixed relay events, will be staged at the Kasarani stadium as per the World Athletics standards.
Kenya should also embark on building a strong sprints and field events team—disciplines in which we haven’t been performing well—as the country will be fielding participants across all 49 disciplines by virtue of being hosts.
Kenya’s tourism prospects are set for a significant boost following Nairobi’s historic selection as the host city , making it the first African city in the competition’s 47-year history to be awarded the right to stage the event.
The field events in which Kenya will field athletes, unlike the previous championships, include hammer, shot put, and discus throws, as well as javelin and jumps comprising high jump, long jump, triple jump, and pole vault.
Kenya is the 2nd most successful country in the history of the World Athletics Championships in the past 20 editions with a total of 72 gold, 60 silver, and 50 bronze, behind the USA which tops with 211 gold, 140 silver, and 119 bronze.
The country also boasts of emerging overall champions at the 2015 edition in Beijing, China, for the first time in history, as well as winning the title at home when it hosted the under-20 global showpiece in 2021. Can Kenya replicate it in 2029 on home soil?
It is now the responsibility of the Kenyan government to coordinate effectively and host a world-class and memorable championship.
