NAIROBI, the capital of Kenya, will host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, making it the first African city to stage the global athletics championship.
The decision was announced by World Athletics on Tuesday, September 15, after its council meeting in Budapest, Hungary, where Munich, Germany, was also selected to host the 2031 edition.
The 2029 championship will mark the first time the senior World Athletics Championships will be held in Africa since the event began in 1983.
According to World Athletics, Nairobi was selected after presenting a strong bid built around its experience hosting international athletics competitions, planned improvements to the Kasarani Stadium and financial guarantees.
The president of World Athletics Sebastian Coe, said the decision was significant for the growth of athletics globally.
“We were fortunate to have four outstanding bids for 2029 and 2031, and this was not an easy decision for the Council,” Coe said, adding, “With this Council decision today, we continue to fulfil our mission of growing athletics worldwide with the hosting of our World Athletics Championships in Asia, Africa and Europe over our next three editions.”
Nairobi previously bid to host the 2025 World Championships but lost the hosting rights to Tokyo, Japan. It subsequently submitted another bid for the 2029 edition.
The Kenyan capital has hosted several major athletics competitions, including the 2017 World U18 Championships and the 2021 World U20 Championships.
It also hosts the Kip Keino Classic, which became part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold in 2020.
Kasarani Stadium, the proposed venue for the 2029 championships, is undergoing a major renovation ahead of Kenya’s hosting of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
World Athletics said the improvements to the stadium, combined with Nairobi’s experience in hosting international competitions, strengthened Kenya’s bid.
Kenya’s athletics record
Kenya’s selection comes as the country continues to rank among the world’s most successful athletics nations.
The country has produced several Olympic and world champions, including Faith Kipyegon, Eliud Kipchoge, David Rudisha, Hellen Obiri, Vivian Cheruiyot and Ezekiel Kemboi.
Kenya finished second on the medal table at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, winning seven gold medals and 11 medals overall.
World Athletics said its research showed that 68 per cent of Kenyans surveyed had a high interest in athletics, compared with a global average of 39 percent.
Kenya is also the second-most successful nation in the history of the World Athletics Championships, according to the global governing body.
The decision follows a series of major World Athletics events held in Africa in recent years.
Uganda hosted the World Cross Country Championships in Kampala in 2017, while Nairobi hosted the World U18 Championships that year, and the World U20 Championships in 2021.
In 2026, Gaborone, Botswana, hosted the World Athletics Relays, becoming the first African host of the competition.
Coe said Nairobi’s selection was possible because Kenya had demonstrated the capacity and readiness to host the global championship.
“Nairobi presented a compelling and emotional bid, and taking the World Athletics Championships to Africa for the first time will be historic,” he said.
“It was important that the World Athletics Championships should come to Africa when we had the right host, the right bid and the right circumstances.”
The 2029 championships will be held two years after the next edition in Beijing, China, scheduled for September 10–19, 2027.
Munich will then host the 2031 edition, returning the championships to Germany for the first time since Berlin hosted the event in 2009.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M