Athletics Kenya (AK) president Jack Tuwei believes the Nairobi Expressway, among other facilities, will convince inspectors from World Athletics about the country's readiness to host the 2025 World Championship.
The panel of seven officials will be in the country on April 25-26 to evaluate various infrastructures and logistical preparedness of Nairobi to stage the biennial event.
"There are so many things they will look at. They want to see the training areas, the stadium itself, the hotels, Covid-19 protocols as well as the traffic management. It is a good thing we now have the Expressway because these are some of the things they will look at," Tuwei said.
Apart from the Expressway, Tuwei believes they have already fulfilled most of the conditions required to host a World Championship as far as facilities are concerned.
"Hosting a World Championship is different from other competitions. For example, we are required to have a minimum of four training areas. Thankfully for the government, we already have more than the required number of training areas (Kirigiti, Jamhuri, Langata, Nyayo and Kenyatta University)," he said.
Tuwei added: "We will take them to all these places as well as Kasarani where we also have a warm-up area. They also need guarantees from the government that Kenya is ready to host the World Championship."
If Kenya's bid goes through, it will be the first time for athletics' biggest competition to be held in Africa.
Tuwei said they will use this year's edition in Oregon and the Budapest World Championship in 2023 as a learning opportunity on how to successfully host the games.
"We have got our team that will be going to Oregon so they can learn and understand what needs to be done. We have already set aside a budget for that. Oregon will definitely be a learning experience for us as will be in Budapest," he said.
He added: "This will not be the first time to understudy. We did it in 2018 in Tampere while preparing for the World Under 20. It was the same case for the World Under 18 and the World Cross Country Championship."
Speaking at the same time, AK treasurer David Miano, said Kenyan athletes stand to benefit a lot from the chance to host the World Championship.
"For most of our athletes, they have competed outside in international competitions. The World Championship will give many the opportunity to experience it up close. There's so much WA consider, including the history of the bidding country. Fortunately, we have hosted a number of international competitions in the past," Miano said.
He added that Kenya draws a lot of inspiration from South Africa, which became the first African nation to host the World Cup in 2010.
