by Armstrong Vas
Doha: Lord Sebastian Coe Chairman of the IAAF’s Evaluation Commission for the 2019 World Athletics Championships said the proposed September-October dates ‘offered’ by the Doha Bid File suits the athletic family.
“The window (September-October) that has been offered is one that the IAAF have accepted, so our (evaluation) report will be based on the championship that is offered to us at that stage of the season,” said Coe, the double Olympic 1500 metres champion, who is also Vice-President of the International Association of Athletics Federations.
The former London 2012 Olympics Games Chairman was speaking to reporters after concluding a busy two-day visit to Doha.
“We are looking for a city that understands why it wants to host those Games. And listening to the athletes (Mutaz Barshim and Mariam Farid) today it was very clear what they think these Games can do for athletics – not just in Qatar but in this region,” added the 58-year-old former middle distance runner.
The Commission was inspecting Doha’s bid to host the 2019 IAAF World Championships ahead of voting for the host city of the prestigious athletics championships at the IAAF Council meeting on November 18 in Monaco.
Doha officially submitted its candidature file to host the flagship athletics event on September 25 and is competing against bids from Barcelona, Spain and Eugene, USA; both of which the Commission visited earlier this month.
The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) has offered to host the 2019 Worlds in the September-October window Secretary General of the QOC Sheikh Soud Abdulrahman Al Thani said: “The date we put in the bidding file is end of September beginning of October and that period is actually that time when temperature in Qatar is the same as where most of the world championship have been held in the past.”
“Our goal was to give the most accurate representation of this vibrant city, which needs no embellishment. Doha’s sporting infrastructure has grown tremendously in a relatively short period of time and its world-class sporting facilities and institutions have continued to gather international praise,” he added.
“This city has hosted many outstanding sporting events and has hosted the IAAF Diamond League annually since 1997. It is this experience and knowledge that guarantees its success in the future. The 2019 IAAF World Championships has the potential to be a historic event that connects the world of athletics to a new region full of lively young fans and athletes. It can be a turning point and the start of a new epoch in athletics.”
The final day of the IAAF Commission’s visit included in-depth presentations regarding Doha’s bid and a tour of the renowned Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) – which would host the IAAF Congress alongside the games.
The Congress is held every two years with the World Championships and consists of the IAAF Council members, honorary members as well as a maximum of three delegates from each National Athletic Federation – which the QNCC’s existing outstanding facilities are more than capable of accommodating.
During their two-day visit, the Commission visited the Aspire Zone’s facilities which would be used for the World Championships.
The Evaluation Commission also met members of the Qatar National Athletics team as they were taking part in an athletics master class with Russian hurdler and Doha 2019 Ambassador, Sergey Shubenkov.
Sixteen year-old Farid, a member of the Qatar National Track and Field team, said: “As a Qatari female athlete, it is very important for us to host the 2019 World Championships. We want to show the world that there are females playing sport in this country. We exist. Especially because I am a girl who wears a veil - I want to show that it is possible to play sport and represent my country. I want to be here in 2019 representing Qatar and I will make my country proud. It would mean so much to win the World Championships in front of a home crowd.
Doha 2019 would really inspire people in the GCC and Arab countries, especially when they see girls competing. It would really encourage them to take up athletics and represent their countries. I want them to come and join us and discover athletics for girls.”
President of the Qatar Athletics Federation, Dahlan Al Hamad said: “Doha is a city passionate about sport, but especially passionate about athletics.
The Peninsula
• Doha aims to combine experience, new opportunities and sporting innovation
to connect world of
athletics in 2019
• Doha’s experience of hosting world-class events and existing state-of-the-art facilities make it a prepared and proven global sporting hub.
• Hosting the World Championships in the Middle East for the first time ever will connect the world of athletics to an untapped market.
•Doha offers first ever ‘Athletics City’.
•Khalifa International Stadium will be upgraded to make it the most state-of-the-art purpose-built athletics venue in the world.
• Khalifa Stadium will
feature a world-first 100 metre long video wall-screen
that will revolutionise spectator viewing.
