Qatar to host 2019 world athletic championships

The Qatari capital, Doha, has been selected as host of the 2019 world athletics championships, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) announced on Tuesday.

Doha was chosen ahead of U.S. candidate Eugene, Oregon and Spain’s entry, Barcelona at a IAAF meeting in Monaco.

It is the first time in the history of the event that a Middle Eastern country has been chosen as host.

“It’s a privilege and honor to have the trust of the IAAF,” the leader of the Doha bid, Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said in a statement released on the IAAF website.

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

“I’m confident that with the support of the IAAF we will organize one of the best world championships,” he added.

The first world athletic championships were held at Helsinki in 1983 and have been held biennially since 1991.

Beijing’s “Bird’s Nest” stadium — host to the 2008 Olympic Games — is set to host the event next year and will be followed by London in 2017.

“I (am) sure that in Doha we will have a wonderful edition of the world championships,” said IAAF President Lamine Diack, in a statement.

This is the second major world sporting event to be awarded to Qatar in recent years. In 2010, FIFA selected Qatar to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.