World Athletics President Sebastian Lord Coe has revealed why Nairobi missed a chance to host the 2025 World Athletics Championships.
The World Athletics Council last week handed Tokyo, which hosted the delayed 2020 Olympic Games last year, the rights to host the 2025 World Athletics Championships.
In an interview with Ghanaian journalist Muftawu Nabila Abdulai at the just concluded World Athletics Championships in Oregon, Coe said that Nairobi stood a good chance of hosting the global track and field event because of the immense love for athletics in Kenya, but the council was concerned about the stadium to be used.
“Kenya has a stadium which has to be refurbished, or a new one has to be constructed and the council was concerned due to the time frame, and the resources that would be needed and thus Tokyo was awarded because they have ready facilities,” said Coe in the interview.
He said all the bid cities were spectacular and had every reason to bid but Tokyo emerged the winner in the competitive process.
Kenya has two international stadiums; Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, and Nyayo Stadium. Both are located in the capital Nairobi.
The other candidates for the event were, Silesia and Singapore, all of which were deemed strong enough and experienced enough to host the event. It means Africa will have to wait longer to host the most prestigious athletics event in the world.
The Council sitting in Oregon also handed the 2024 World Cross Country Championships to Pula and Medulin in Croatia, with Florida being awarded hosting rights for the 2026 World Cross Country Championships.
The 2023 World Athletics Championships shall be held in Budapest, Hungary.
Tokyo scored the highest of the four candidates in the bid evaluation across the four focused areas: the potential for a powerful narrative, revenue generating opportunities for World Athletics, the ability of the destination to enhance the international profile of the sport, and an appropriate climate.
Kenya has successfully hosted major athletics events in recent years, including the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, the 2017 World Athletics Under-18 Championships in Nairobi, and the 2021 World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Nairobi.
Kenya has also successfully hosted the Kip Keino Classic, a World Athletics Continental Gold Tour event, for three consecutive years, and the Memorial Agnes Tirop World Cross Country Tour which took place in Eldoret in February this year.
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