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KENYA - 2nd African Country to host                                                                    “There is a lively promotional plan for the championships [in

                      IAAF World U18 - 2017                                                                               Nairobi] to activate fans to fill the stadium [65,000 seat] and   MEDAL TABLE AT FINALS - TOP 10
                                                                                                                          during our visit we have experienced excitement around the
                                                                                                                          event at all levels which we find extremely encouraging.”
        About the event                                    •   Warm-up track including a separate area for long throws    “The championships are being enthusiastically organised by   POS  COUNTRY                       TOTAL
        The IAAF World U18 Championships, formerly known as the IAAF   •   Two training venues                            the Local Organising Committee fully supported by the City
        World Youth Championships, are the premier competition for the   •   At least 2000 beds for team accommodation    of Nairobi and the Kenyan Government. We call on everyone
        world’s best 16 and 17-year-old athletes. More than 1200 athletes   •   International airport within a two-hour bus ride  to redouble their already impressive efforts to drive these   1  CUB CUB  3  1   0      4
        from 170 countries can be expected to take part, competing for                                                    championships across the finish line in July,” concluded Carlo De
        medals in 40 events. The championships draws average crowds   KENYA HOSTED OVER                                   Angeli.
        of up to 10,000 a day and have been staged every odd year         150 NATIONS                                                                                          2      KEN KEN        2      3      0      5
        since 1999, generally in July.                                                                                    The IAAF delegation included representatives of ASICS an
                                                                                                                          Official Partner of the IAAF World Athletics Series, IAAF’s   3  GER GER   2      1      3      6
        History of host cities                             NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 29 – Kenya was given thumbs up by          Marketing Partner Dentsu and their service company Athletics
        2017 Nairobi, Kenya       2007 Ostrava, Czech Republic  IAAF in terms of preparations for the July Under-18 World   Management & Services, and IAAF staff and contractors with
        2015 Cali, Colombia       2005 Marrakesh, Morocco  Championships to be hosted at Nairobi’s Kasarani Stadium.      responsibilities among others for accreditation, broadcasting,   4  JAM JAM  2    0      2      4
        2013 Donetsk, Ukraine     2003 Sherbrooke, Canada                                                                 events, protocol, teams and ticketing.
        2011 Lille, France        2001 Debrecen, Hungary   The comment followed an IAAF site visit this week specifically
        2009 Bressanone, Italy    1999 Bydgoszcz, Poland   timed to take place as the planning and preparation of the World   The Local Organising Committee [LOC] chief executive officer   5  UKR UKR  2  0      0      2
                                                           U18 Championships in Nairobi between 12 to 16 July enters the   Mwangi Muthee said his committee’s visit over the weekend
                                                           final straight.                                                to the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala,
           KENYA IS THE 2ND AFRICAN                        “The magnitude of organising this five day competition, which   Uganda was an eye opener.                           6      RSA RSA        1      2      1      4
          COUNTRY TO HOST THE IAAF                         will be the second largest athletics competition of the year only   About 156 countries, 2,000 athletes and officials are expected   7  ETH ETH  1  1   3      5
          WORLD U18 AFTER MOROCCO                          surpassed by the world championships in London, should not be   in Nairobi compared to 557 athletes from 59 nations at the IAAF
                                                           underestimated,” confirmed Carlo di Angeli, IAAF Head of Events
                                                                                                                          World Cross Country Championships.“
                                                           Operations who led the IAAF delegation which visited Nairobi.                                                       7      CHN CHN        1      1      3      5
        Host city requirements                                                                                            “All directorates with relevant roles in the championships had
        The following general requirements could be considered as   “Last year’s decision to move the competition to the MOI Sports   their hands full during the meetings with the delegates. We are
        necessary for the successful hosting of the event:  Centre in Kasarani [on Nairobi’s north eastern suburbs from the   in the last straight in our preparations and they must be able to   9  FRA FRA  1  0  1     2
                                                           earlier intended Nyayo National Stadium near the city centre]   report that all milestones in the planning and implementation
        •   Minimum population of 100,000                  was a good one allowing better facilities and proximity to the   have been reached. We are fast-approaching the D-Day,”
        •   Minimum 10,000-seat stadium                    athletes’ accommodation at Kenyatta University. With all teams   concluded Muthee.                                  10     CZE CZE        1      0      0      1
        •   Category 1 stadium certificate                 staying at the university this will create a ‘village’ concept with
        •   Eight-lane synthetic surface                   the added safety, comradery, convenience and comfort that
                                                           brings.”
    18  PITCH PLUS SPORTS MAGAZINE                                                                                                                                                                  PITCH PLUS SPORTS MAGAZINE  19
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