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Kenyans gang up against London critics questioning Nairobi’s right to host World Athletics Championships
16th September, 2026 07:56 AM
Kenyans have ganged up to defend Nairobi from a barrage of criticisms from several London-based sports personalities and media outlets who have expressed outright disappointment after the English capital lost the hosting rights for the World Athletics Championships to Nairobi.
World Athletics chose the Kenyan capital for the event, meaning London and other European cities now face a lengthy spell away from the continent—with three successive world championships held elsewhere, culminating in the 2028 Olympics taking place in Los Angeles.
Nairobi it is!
The decision was made during the 242nd World Athletics Council meeting in Budapest on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, following recommendations from a selection panel, making Nairobi the first African host of the global showpiece.
The Kenyan capital also bid for the 2025 championships (which were staged in Tokyo), meaning they will now have the chance to host the last global event to feature the marathon before it moves to a standalone world championship.
London hosted a highly successful world championship at the Olympic Stadium in 2017, and the city’s bid had been backed by approximately £45 million in guaranteed public-sector investment.
Reactions to the decision
UK Athletics chief Jack Buckner, also the co-founder of bid organisers Athletics Ventures, said:
“We are deeply disappointed that the 2029 World Athletics Championships will not be held in London. We believed we had an outstanding bid, which would genuinely take the sport to new levels.
Review and regroup
“The UK is an incredible host for major sports events and the British public loves athletics. Athletics Ventures has the ambition to bring those events here and, although today’s announcement hasn’t gone our way, we will review and regroup.
“We know the world’s athletes love competing here, and we’ll continue to explore further opportunities to make that happen.”
Matt Lawton, a sports writer, also expressed disappointment, saying that Nairobi is clouded by doping scandals.
“World Athletics have set new standards for sports governance under Seb Coe. But I fundamentally disagree with the decision by the WA Council to hand the 2029 World Championships to Nairobi ahead of London,” he wrote.
Kenyans defend Nairobi
However, Kenyans have come out to defend the country against the criticism, maintaining that Nairobi rightfully earned the right to host the global showpiece.
Humanitarian entrepreneur Gina Din argued that Kenya has produced some of the world’s most celebrated athletes but has never hosted such a global event.
“An odd argument. Nairobi won a competitive international bid assessed by World Athletics. Africa has given the sport some of its greatest athletes, yet has never hosted its World Championships. London losing is not an injustice. It is called global sport,” Gina Din said in response to Matt’s article.
Corporate Digital Communication Strategist Janet Machuka wrote: “It’s okay. It’s your opinion. Everyone else has theirs.”
“Matt, tell us where the medicines you claim our athletes use for doping come from,” another social media user, Marvin Chege, wrote.
This comes after World Athletics President Lord Coe explained the Nairobi decision was made “not simply on the clear historic ground-breaking nature, but also on some really serious analysis.”
Coe also stated that the decision would help advance the sport’s global reach, with the championships set to be staged in Asia, Africa and Europe over the next three editions.
Kenyans’ elation
The decision has attracted massive fanfare back home, with President William Ruto and the Sports Cabinet secretary Salim Mvurya among those leading in welcoming the decision to bring the games to the athletic powerhouse East African nation.
The Kenyan capital has previously hosted major World Athletics events, including the 2017 World U18 Championships and the 2021 World U20 Championships, as the 2029 bid builds on this experience, with the city presenting a plan centred on the renovated Kasarani Stadium, which is undergoing a major overhaul ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
