Kenya moves a step closer to hosting World Athletics Championships

Kenya’s dream of hosting the senior World Athletics Championships has entered an exciting new chapter, with Athletics Kenya (AK) confirming that the country beat the deadline to submit its bid for the 2029 edition of the global showpiece.

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This bold move reinforces Kenya’s long-standing ambition to bring the world’s biggest track and field event to Africa for the first time, a dream that has been decades in the making.

With its rich athletics heritage and passionate fan base, Kenya believes the time has come for the continent to take its rightful place on the global athletics stage.

Currently, Africa hosts a Diamond League meet in Rabat and Continental Gold Tour events in Botswana and Kenya.

As the dominant force in middle and long-distance running, Kenya argues that the time is ripe for both the nation and the continent to host the senior World Championships.

Having successfully staged the World Under-18 Championships in 2017 and the World Under-20 Championships in 2021, both to international acclaim, Kenya is banking on those experiences as proof of its ability to deliver a world-class event.

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Athletics Kenya president Lt. Gen. (Rtd.) Jackson Tuwei believes this is the most opportune moment for Kenya and Africa to step forward.

Under his leadership and in his capacity as a World Athletics vice president, AK has maintained close engagement with the world governing body, consistently advocating for Africa’s inclusion as a host of the senior World Championships.

Tuwei says the bid represents not just a national ambition but a continental vision to celebrate Africa’s central role in the sport’s global success story.

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In an exclusive interview with Telecomasia.net, Tuwei discussed Kenya’s journey toward hosting the 2029 World Championships, the lessons learned from previous events, and the broader dream of bringing the world to Nairobi.

He also spoke about the motivation behind the bid, the partnerships driving it, and the legacy the event would leave for Kenyan and African athletics.

Kenya had previously presented a bid to host the 2025 edition, which ultimately went to Tokyo. Despite that setback, Tuwei believes that now is Kenya’s time.

“It has been in the works for many years, and now the bid has been placed,” Tuwei said.

“We have gunned off the process and started turning the wheels towards hosting the World Athletics Championships. We managed to place our bid well within the deadline, and that is one step passed.

The journey towards being announced as a host is not easy; it is a long process. There are about five more steps that we need to clear before we are handed the hosting rights.

The government has already signed all the necessary documents, and we are good to go after World Athletics acknowledged our bid.”

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He added that the next phase involves showcasing Kenya’s preparedness beyond the stadiums.

“The next step waiting for us now is showing the facilities we have, not just the competition venue, but also transport infrastructure, hospitals, hospitality, visa processes, and so forth. In most of these areas, as a country, we are well prepared.”

On the question of competition venues, Tuwei said the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, remains the preferred option.

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“All competition facilities must be graded and approved as first-class, and in this case, we are looking at Kasarani,” he noted.

“We know it underwent renovations recently because of CHAN, but through the Ministry of Sports, we have requested representatives from World Athletics to come and inspect the stadium early, so we can identify areas that need correction or improvement before the final inspectors come for approval.

We have already held conversations with all relevant stakeholders to ensure Kasarani meets the required standards.”