Plan meticulously for the major races Kenya will host

What a way to start the year 2020! Yes, the announcement last week by World Athletics that Kenya will host the first leg of the World Tour on May 2 left the athletics fraternity jumping with joy.

As we speak, Nairobi will be the first stop for the 2020 World Athletics Continental Tour and the Kenyan capital will be the only African city to host a leg of the event.

This feat means there is little time for Kenya to celebrate the continued recognition that they have been getting from World Athletics in terms of hosting major international events in the last couple of years.

Kenya successfully hosted the World Under-18 Championships in 2017 and in mid this year, the country hosts the World Under-20 Championship. The government and Athletics Kenya need to hit the ground running to ensure they execute the projects entrusted to them in a world-class manner.

With the Tour divided into three levels — gold, silver and bronze — whose status will be determined by the quality of competition and prize money on offer, it is upon the organisers of the Kenyan leg to deliver a world-class event that will attract the best of the best in the sport.

It’s arguably, the best opportunity for the continent to showcase their talent in the events that they have dominated alongside neighbours Ethiopia including the 10,000m, 5,000m and more recently the 3,000m steeplechase. African nations have slowly been elbowed out of the Diamond League competitions to the detriment of our athletes.

Their reintroduction in the Kenyan World Tour leg will ensure our long-distance runners get an international platform to showcase their talent and this might eventually lead the World Athletics to reconsider their stance on edging out the ‘African events’.

For the competition to be successful, the expected attendance will be vital. The onus is now on the county and national government, as promised by Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed to ensure Nyayo Stadium is ready by April in time for the Nairobi Athletics Tour.

With its location and the capacity of 25,000, Nyayo would be ideal to host the athletics meet as fans will be closer to the action unlike the bigger Kasarani that does not generate a good atmosphere for a live broadcast.

Finally, we have three years to host the leg and ensure it becomes our legacy project. It’s important for AK to consider the possibility of liaising with other African athletics bodies to organise an event that will celebrate Africa runners.

For example, Kenya and Ethiopia have dominated long-distance running for decades and need to set the pace for the rest of Africa by organising high-profile events and bring on board regional neighbours like Uganda and Tanzania. If well executed, this could attract individuals from USA and Europe who want to enhance their reputation while testing their wits against the best in the world.

This will not only help nurture talent with home grown events but would attract sponsorships that will go a long way in supporting athletics development on the continent.