By Hassan Wekesa - Editor
Kenya, 15 September 2026 - Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on Tuesday described it as a proud moment for Kenya after the country was selected to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships.
The World Athletics President Sebastian Coe on Tuesday stated that Nairobi will host the 2029 event while Munich will host the 2031 edition.
Kenya becomes the first African nation to host the senior World Athletics Championships
"At last, our standing as a global sporting powerhouse has been crowned with the honour to host the 2029 senior World Athletics Championships, the first such feat on the African continent," Murkomen stated.
He extended his congratulatory message to all the teams that tirelessly worked for it.
He thanked President William Ruto, his successor in the Sports Ministry, Salim Mvurya and the Athletics Kenya President Lt. Gen (Retired) Jackson Tuwei.
"The win is one of the fruits of President William Ruto’s commitment to improving the sports infrastructure and Kenya’s standing in the community of nations. Go, go, Kenya," Murkomen said.
World Athletics stated that Kenya stood out because of a number or reasons including renovation of Kasarani Stadium ahead of PAMOJA 2027 AFCON soccer games to be hosted jointly by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret and the fact that athletics is woven into the fabric of Kenya.
"Athletes like Olympics Champion Faith Kipyegon, Kelvin Cheruiyot and Eliud Kipchoge and their reputation as well as two times Olympics Champion Kipkeino the father of athletics in Kenya, two time World Champion Hellen Obiri, multiple Cross Country title holder Paul Tergat and multiple World Half Marathon title holder Tegla Loruope all have shaped the history of our sport," Coe stated.
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World Athletics added that Nairobi had demonstrated effectively that this is there momemnt to supercharge the growth of athletics across the globe.
At Kasarani, the renovations and overhaul are in top gear. Kenya has also build a modern stadium, Talanta Stadium that is to be renamed Raila Odinga International Stadium.
Kenya's chances were bolstered by the fact that it successfully staged the World U18 Championships in Nairobi in 2017, the World U20 Championships in 2021 and the Kip Keino Classic, which has become one of Africa’s leading one-day meetings.
Other compelling insights were premised on the fact that Kenya is the single most interested market in Athletics with 68% of Kenyans rating their interest against the 39% global average.
Kenya according to World Athletics, has highest net promoters score of any market.
Athletics ranked the second most followed sport in Kenya and Kenyan fans ranked fourth highest on World Athletics' social media channels.