For the first time the World Athletics Championships will be hosted on the African soil in Kenya.
The championships are scheduled for 2029 in the capital Nairobi marking the first time the global track and field showpiece will be staged on African soil.
The decision was confirmed by the World Athletics Council in Budapest, handing Kenya the opportunity to host one of the biggest events on the international athletics calendar.
The 2029 championships are expected to bring together the world’s leading athletes for a major celebration of track and field, while placing Nairobi and Kenya at the centre of global athletics.
Kenya has a long-standing reputation as one of the world’s strongest athletics nations, particularly in distance running. The country has produced generations of Olympic and world champions, making its selection a significant recognition of its contribution to the sport.
Hosting the championships will also provide an opportunity for Kenya to showcase its athletics infrastructure, tourism sector and ability to stage major international sporting events.
The event is expected to attract athletes, officials, fans and international visitors from across the world, potentially providing economic benefits through tourism, hospitality, transport and other related sectors.
The decision also represents a broader milestone for African athletics. Although the continent has produced some of the world’s greatest track and field athletes, it has never previously hosted the senior World Athletics Championships.
The championships will therefore give African fans an opportunity to watch the world’s best athletes competing on home soil and could further strengthen interest and investment in athletics across the continent.
Meanwhile, Germany was selected to host the 2031 World Athletics Championships in Munich, continuing the rotation of the global event between different regions.
The selections of Nairobi and Munich underline World Athletics’ efforts to expand the reach of its flagship championships while giving different parts of the world an opportunity to host the sport’s biggest international stage.
For Kenya, however, 2029 will be particularly historic as Nairobi prepares to welcome the athletics world for the first World Athletics Championships ever held in Africa.
