Kenya to bid for 2017 IAAF World Youth Championships

Kenya will bid to stage the 2017 IAAF World Youth Championships here.

Athletics Kenya president Isaiah Kiplagat said here Monday that they have the capacity and resources to successfully bid for the championships to be staged in June 2017, reports Xinhua.

"At the moment we are not keen to talk about what it will cost to bring the competition to Kenya. The most important thing is that Kenya is ready to bid for this prestigious championship. We are in the process of putting together a bid paper to IAAF. It is after our request is accepted that we will talk about what is required," said Kiplagat.

International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) had announced March 7 the opening of a new bid process for several events including the World Youth Championships, which is open for athletes aged 16 and 17.

The deadline for receipt of a Letter of Intent is April 7. The cities will then receive bid documentation by the end of April. The completed bid application and documentation are to be handed in Sep 22. Presentation of bids to the IAAF Council and the final decision will take place in November.

Kiplagat said they are seeking authorisation from the government to go for the event.

"I have discussed with president Uhuru Kenyatta about us hosting the event and he is very positive about it. I also want to call upon the private corporates like Safaricom to come on board," added Kiplagat.

Kenya has successfully hosted the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa and also the 2010 Senior Africa Athletics Championships.