Kenya has won the right to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, bringing the sport’s biggest global track and field event to African soil for the first time in history.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe announced Nairobi as the 2029 host on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, ending a competitive bidding process that also featured London, Rome and Munich. Nairobi’s victory means the global athletics family will descend on Kenya’s capital for a championship that promises to be one of the most significant sporting events ever staged on the continent.

The decision is a major vote of confidence in Kenya, a country whose identity has been closely connected to athletics for generations. It also represents a breakthrough for Africa, which has hosted several major World Athletics events but had never staged the senior World Athletics Championships.

“Nairobi presented a compelling and emotional bid, and taking the World Athletics Championships to Africa for the first time will be historic,” Coe said, while praising Kenya’s deep connection with the sport and its contribution to athletics history.

The decision follows years of Kenya building its credentials as an international athletics host. Nairobi staged the World Athletics Under-18 Championships in 2017 and the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in 2021, while Kenya has also hosted the World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa and the African Athletics Championships in Nairobi.

The continent has continued to gain experience on the global stage, with Kampala hosting the World Cross Country Championships in 2017 and Gaborone staging the World Athletics Relays in 2026, the first edition of that competition to be held in Africa.

Nairobi’s latest success is therefore the culmination of a gradual rise in Africa’s ability to host major international athletics competitions.

For Kenya, the journey to 2029 also represents redemption after Nairobi previously bid for the 2025 World Championships but lost to Tokyo. Infrastructure was identified as one of the weaknesses surrounding that earlier bid, but the country’s latest proposal presented a different picture, with major stadium upgrades forming part of Kenya’s preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

Kasarani Stadium, which will serve as the main venue for the 2029 championships, is undergoing a major overhaul ahead of AFCON 2027, which Kenya will co-host with Tanzania and Uganda. The upgrades provide an opportunity to leave Kenya with facilities capable of supporting major international competitions long after the World Championships are over.

The development could also accelerate improvements at other major sporting facilities, including Nyayo National Stadium, as Kenya prepares for the global athletics spotlight. With the recently developed Talanta Sports City setting a new benchmark for sporting infrastructure, the 2029 championship could become another catalyst for Kenya to modernize its sports facilities.

The scale of the opportunity is underlined by Kenya’s extraordinary relationship with athletics. According to World Athletics fan research cited in its announcement, 68 percent of Kenyans surveyed described their interest in athletics as high, compared with a global average of 39 percent. Kenya was also identified as the most athletics-interested market in the survey.

That passion is matched by performance. Kenya remains one of the most successful nations in World Athletics Championships history and finished second on the medal table at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, collecting seven gold medals and 11 medals overall.

The country’s athletics story has been built by generations of champions, from two-time Olympic champion Kip Keino and multiple world cross-country champion Paul Tergat to marathon great Eliud Kipchoge, Faith Kipyegon, Vivian Cheruiyot, Hellen Obiri, David Rudisha and Tegla Loroupe.

Now, many of the world’s best athletes will have the opportunity to compete on the same soil that produced some of the sport’s greatest names.

President William Ruto welcomed the decision, describing it as a landmark achievement for Kenya and Africa.

“The World Athletics Championships are coming home!

Our country has won the right to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, making Kenya the first African nation to stage the premier global athletics competition.

This is Kenya’s moment, Africa’s moment and a victory for generations of athletes who made our nation synonymous with excellence on the track, on the road and cross country.”

Ruto congratulated the bid team, Athletics Kenya, the Ministry of Sports, Youth Affairs and the Creative Economy, the country’s athletes and everyone involved in securing the hosting rights, while thanking World Athletics for placing its confidence in Kenya.

“We thank World Athletics for the confidence it has placed in Kenya. We will honour that confidence by delivering an unforgettable championship worthy of our athletes, our country and our continent.” – Ruto

The significance extends beyond Kenya’s borders. South Africa became the first African country to host a FIFA World Cup in 2010. Sixteen years later, Africa has secured another major global sporting milestone, this time with Kenya bringing the World Athletics Championships to the continent.

For Kenya, perhaps the most powerful part of the victory is that an athletics powerhouse will finally get to showcase its sport at home.

For decades, Kenyan athletes have travelled across the world chasing Olympic and World Championship glory. In 2029, the world’s best will travel to Nairobi, to the home of a nation that has helped shape modern athletics.

The hosting rights also place a significant responsibility on Kenya. The next three years will require careful planning, investment and delivery to ensure the country fulfils the confidence placed in it by World Athletics.

Kasarani’s ongoing transformation will be central to that preparation, while Nyayo and other sporting facilities could also benefit from renewed attention as Kenya builds the infrastructure required for a championship of this magnitude.

This is more than a hosting announcement. It is a historic trust placed in Kenya, a landmark moment for African athletics and an opportunity to turn the country’s extraordinary athletics heritage into a global celebration on home soil.

After generations of competing for medals far from home, Kenya will finally have the world’s biggest athletics championship in its own backyard.