Africa hosts the World Athletics Championship for the first time in 2029 in Nairobi

Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, will host the first World Athletics Championships in Africa in 2029, World Athletic announced on Tuesday.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the international athletics federation (World Athletics) held this Tuesday in Budapest.

The Nairobi World Cup will have the precedent of successful competitions recently organised by World Athletic in Africa. Kampala (Uganda) hosted the Cross World Championships in 2017; Nairobi hosted the same year the Under-18 World Championships and the Under-20 World Championships in 2021; and Gaborone (Botswana) hosted the first World Relay competition in Africa in 2026.

In the context of this broader development, Nairobi has become a "prestigious host city"for World Athletic, having submitted a more complete candidacy than it had offered by 2025, when Tokyo was elected.

Kenya's strong association with athletics is also reflected in the World Athletic fan survey that found that approximately 68% of Kenyans surveyed said they were very interested in athletics, making Kenya the market most interested in athletics compared to the world average of 39%.

In Kenya,athletics  is the second most popular sport in the country, only behind football. In addition, Kenya ranks fourth in World Athletic social media channel followers.

The next World Athletics Championshipswill be held in Beijing  between 10 and 19 September 2027. Nairobi 2029 and Munich 2031 will also be held in September, with the aim of ensuring that the world athletics calendar reaches its peak with a major world championship at the end of the season.