Tuesday, 20 June, 2017, Nairobi: The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) and the IAAF World U18 Championships Local Organizing Committee (LOC) have today made formal their partnership to support the upcoming IAAF World U18 Championships – which will be held in Nairobi’s Kasarani Stadium from the 12th to the 16th of July, 2017.
“The IAAF World U18 Championships will afford Kenya the opportunity to host more than 2,000 athletes from more than 130 countries from varied parts of the world. We see this as an opportunity to cast a spotlight on the best that our country to a global audience as Kenya will have the privilege of hosting more than 300 local and international media. We will, therefore, seize this moment to prime Kenya as a sports destination,” said KTB CEO, Dr. Betty Radier.
KTB has pledged Kshs. 20 million that will go towards supporting the event in a bid to create a positive alternative narrative to the rest of the world ahead of the August polls.
First held in 1999, the IAAF World U18 Championships (formerly named the IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics up to November 2015) is a global athletics event comprising track and field events for competitors who are 17 or younger. The biennial event is organized by International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The first edition of these championships was held Bydgoszcz Poland in 1999 and the event was hosted for the first time in Africa by Morocco in 2005.
“We are proud to be in partnership with the Kenya Tourism Board. The World U18 Championships are a great opportunity for us to honor our youth and promote the best of Kenya. Preparations are in high gear and I would like to urge all Kenyans to turn up in high numbers and support our athletes,” said LOC CEO, Mwangi Muthee.
Kenya is the second country in Africa to be accorded the opportunity to host the event. During the first event – held in Bydgoszcz, Poland in 1999 – Kenya displayed an extra sterling performance and topped the medal standings. In 2014, Kenya placed and won the bid to host 2017 IAAF World Under 18 Championships with the defining slogan and proposition statement “Home of Champions”.