Qatar Submits Formal Request to Organize 2017 World Championships in Athletics

Daegu, South Korea, September 01 (QNA)-Vice president of the International Federation of Athletics Brigadier Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad (Qatar) who is also acting president of the Asian Athletics Association (AAA) and deputy chairman of Qatar bid 2017 supreme committee Qatar submitted on Thursday four copies of a formal request of Qatar to host the 2017 IAAF World Championships in Athletics to its 16th edition.
The handing over ceremonies of Qatar's bid file took place at Inter-Burgo Hotel in South Korean city of Daegu, where the team of International Federation of Athletics is staying. Deagu is curently hosting the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics.
Qatar, named this year as winning bidders for the 2022 soccer World Cup, hosted the world indoor championships last year.
Qatar, which has been successful in hosting many major international sports events, is in the race along with Budapest, London and Spanish city of Barcelona.
World Championships, held biennially, is taking place in Daegu, South Korea. The 2013 edition will be in Moscow, Russia and the Chinese capital city Beijing will play host to the 2015 edition.
Formal bids must be submitted to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) by Sept. 1 with the winners to be announced in Monaco in November.
Qatar s bid for the 2017 World Championship got a shot in the arm on Wednesday when Dahlan Al Hamad was elected to the post of IAAF s Vice-President for the third term in succession. He polled more votes (175) thanGreat Britain s Sebastian Coe (171), who heads his country s rival bid for the outdoor worlds.
Anticipating the keen contest ahead, the Doha Bid Committee has started planning its publicity drive. They reached Daegu, the venue of the 2011 World Championships, to file its bid book and introduce itself to the members of the IAAF Council, which was elected on Wednesday and Thursday.
According to the international calendar the name of the state and the capital winning the privilege of hosting such a bid will be revealed on the sidelines of the meetings of the Executive Office of the International Union for athletics, Monaco, and attended by all members of the Executive Office.
It is worth mentioning that HE Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the secretary of Qatar Olympic Committee, chairs the Organizing Committee of Qatar Bid 2017, which also includes Brigadier Dahlan al hamad as vice president, while QAAF President Abdullah Ahmad al Zaini is the Chief Executive , Saadoun al Kuwari , the director for support and services, Adel Al Baker, as Sports Director , and Essa Al Harami as manager of the establishment, and Maher summer as marketing director, and Dr. Jabbar Al Kaabi, coach and technical manager.
For his part, Maher Al- Saifi, who is looking after the public relations and marketing of the Doha bid, said, "We re here to submit our bid file to the IAAF on September 1 before starting our contact campaign by meeting the new body.
"Dahlan s successful election for the third term, with more votes than Great Britain s Coe, has provided a big push to our campaign. It may go a long way in helping us when the winner is selected in November," he said.
Talking about the future strategies,al- Saifi said, "Our plan is to launch the worldwide campaign for our bid after the Worlds. We ll kick off the promotional activities in Brussels, on September 16, when the Diamond League comes to a close."
The final draft of the bid file will be presented to the IAAF at the end of October.
Beijing will host the 2015 championships after ending up as sole bidder after London withdrew due to uncertainty, now resolved, over the future use of the 2012 Olympic stadium.
After Budapest s recent withdrawal,Doha, London and Barcelona are the three cities in contention. An IAAF Technical Committee will visit the country in mid-October before the final winner will be announced.(QNA)