The Commission, chaired by IAAF Vice-President Sebastian Coe, will tour key Doha 2019 sites such as the Khalifa International Stadium.

By Sports Reporter/Doha

The eight-member IAAF Evaluation Commission for the 2019 World Championships will be arriving in Doha today to begin their inspection of the Qatari Capital’s Bid, just weeks before the vote to decide the host of the prestigious championships.

Doha officially submitted its Candidature File to host the flagship athletics event on September 25th and is competing against bids from Barcelona, Spain and Eugene, USA. The Commission has already visited the other two venues earlier this month. The final decision will be taken by the IAAF Council at its meeting in Monaco on November 18th.

The Commission, chaired by IAAF Vice-President Sebastian Coe and consisting IAAF Council Members, IAAF senior staff and sponsors, will attend meetings during their two-day visit and will tour key Doha 2019 sites such as Khalifa International Stadium – where the Championships will be held and which is currently being upgraded to the highest technical standards.

Members of the commission will also tour Qatar National Convention Centre, where, if successful, the IAAF Congress would be held. The impressive venue is already host to the world’s most prestigious and complex congresses and one of the most sustainable venues in the world. Over the span of the two days, the Commission will examine Doha’s ability to successfully host the 2019 IAAF World Championships.

Speaking about the arrival of the Evaluation Commission, President of the Qatar Athletics Federation, Dahlan al-Hamad said: “We are greatly honoured to welcome the IAAF Evaluation Commission to Doha. This is our opportunity to show the Commission and the world that Doha has many unique offerings. Our bid will utilise our proven experience of hosting World Class events, our existing state-of-the-art facilities and our world-leading sporting innovation, all of which we believe will enable us to deliver an exceptional World Championships in a new region. Doha 2019 presents an excellent opportunity to connect athletics with an untapped market and inspire more young people across the region to choose athletics as their number one sport.”

The Doha 2019 Bid Committee, consisting of members of the Qatar Athletics Federation and the Qatar Olympic Committee, has meticulously prepared for the visit in co-operation with the Bid’s partners including the Aspire Zone, Msheireb Properties and BeIn Sports.

The Qatari Capital is no stranger to impeccably hosting world-class international sporting events and already has under its belt the 2006 Asian Games, the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, the 2011 Arab Games and the annual IAAF Diamond League meeting (previously the IAAF Super Grand Prix), which has been held every year since 1997.

In the coming year Doha will host other world-class sporting tournaments including the 12th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), the Qatar ExxonMobil Open (ATP) and the 24th Men’s Handball World Championships – demonstrating Doha’s readiness and proven experience in playing host to some of the world’s premier sporting events.