Doha named host for the 2019 World Chamionships

Sport360 staff 08:34 19/11/2014
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  • Faith in the process: IAAF president Lamine Diack (L) and Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, President of ANOC

    Doha has been awarded the right to host the 2019 World Champion­ships after beating off competition from Eugene and Barcelona.

    – David Plese and Deirdre Casey win inaugural Dubai International Triathlon

    The IAAF council voted in favour of Doha following final presenta­tions from all three cities at the Fairmont Hotel in Monaco.

    It is a case of second time lucky for the capital city of Qatar after it was edged out by London to host the 2017 event.

    “I am sure that in Doha we will have a wonderful edition of the World Championships,” said IAAF president Lamine Diack, saying the three bids were “the best presenta­tions we have ever had”.

    Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the leader of the Doha bid which saw off that of American city Eugene 15-12 in the second round of voting by the IAAF after Barce­lona’s elimination, added: “It’s a privilege and honour to have the trust of the IAAF.

    “I am very delighted that these championships are going to be for the first time in the region.

    “I’m confident that with the help of the IAAF we will organise one of the best world championships.”

    Doha has proposed holding the event in the unfavourable period from September 29-Octo­ber 6, with marathons to be held in the evening, in a bid to avoid the searingly hot summer month of August, when the championships are usually held.

    The 2015 World Championships take place in Bei­jing from August 22-30, while the London 2017 event is also sched­uled for August.

    The issue of temperature has also been a factor in the 2022 World Cup, with a push to hold it in the winter months, much to the disgruntlement of the European leagues.

    Doha will also be a controversial choice for track and field because most athletics events are wrapped up in early September, with the final Diamond League meet usually held in Brussels on the first weekend of the month, and just a sprinkling of meets following that as athletes head into the off-season before an all-important Olympic year.

    Since successfully staging the 2006 Asian Games, Doha has fought hard to become a world-renowned sports event city.

    It held the 2010 World Indoor Athletics Championships, and for several seasons the opening meet of the Diamond League, in May.

    It will also host the World Swim­ming Championships in December and in January the men’s World Handball Championships.

    But there are sure to be doubts over Doha’s ability to fill a stadium for two track and field sessions a day.

    The athletics programme in the 2006 Asian Games was very poorly attended, and even specta­tor support at the three-hour-long Diamond League meet, staged in a compact inner-city stadium, is far from fantastic.

    Diack added: “I am convinced they are committed through sport to developing their country and their community. And they are doing the right things.”

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