World Athletics Boss Gives Kenya World Championships Hope as He Lauds Nairobi’s ‘Strong’ Bid

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has confirmed that Nairobi's bid to host the World Athletics Championships in 2029 or 2031 is now with the official evaluation panel, as he declared the sport is entering a "golden age."

Speaking to journalists during his traditional end-of-year media call, Coe highlighted the sport's robust financial health and growing global reach. He pointed to the recent World Championships in Tokyo as "the most successful in history," noting that revenues at the Monaco-based organization have surged by over 25 percent in the last four years.

The Tokyo championships attracted 14 commercial partners—an unprecedented number—and generated 1.4 billion viewer hours across 234 territories. More than 600,000 tickets were sold, with evening sessions consistently sold out.

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"On any metric, Tokyo was our most successful World Championships, both in global reach and commercial partnerships," Coe stated as per Puravida Sports Africa. "For 84 countries to leave a World Championships with either a finalist or a top-8 finisher is unprecedented. No other sport has that global reach."

Coe, a two-time Olympic 1,500m champion, reiterated his strong support for Africa hosting major global competitions. He emphasized that the continent is ready to stage the federation's flagship event.

"We have always been clear—and a chunk of my Council is clear—that at the right time, this needs to happen," he said regarding an African bid for the World Championships.

He praised Kenya's successful hosting of the World Under-18 Championships in 2017 and the World Under-20 Championships in 2021, both held in Nairobi. Coe also expressed confidence in Botswana's ability to host a successful World Athletics Relays in Gaborone on May 2-3.

"There is already a very strong bid that's in from Nairobi, and that's now with the Evaluation Panel," Coe confirmed. "I know that they will make the right observations to our Council when it matters. Everybody is aware that Africa is really working to come of age in our World Championship status."