World Athletics has today published its four-year Strategic Plan, designed to harness the power and accessibility of athletics to drive growth in the sport and create a healthier and fitter world.
In recent meetings, World Athletics and its 214 Member Federations discussed the direction athletics will take over the next four years and the short-term challenges and opportunities the sport has as the world begins to emerge from lockdown.
“A huge amount of work has been put into developing our four-year Strategic Plan, led by our CEO Jon Ridgeon and with input and involvement from all at HQ, our Executive Board, our Area Presidents, Commission Chairs and Commissions,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “This is an exceptional body of work that brings together all the great things we do as a global sport body with a laser sharp focus on doing it better, and includes some innovative and creative ideas to drive growth in our sport. It is exactly the type of roadmap our sport needs to bring together all our stakeholders with a single vision, mission and clear priorities.”
The mission of the Strategic Plan is to:
- Grow the sport and make it relevant in people’s lives and the lives of their communities.
- Inspire by creating globally appealing and accessible competitions, events, and activities so our talented athletes can entertain and inspire the world.
- Lead by being the best example of a well-governed sports federation taking brave leadership decisions and valuing partnerships that deliver athletics around the world.
The focus of the plan is on four priority goals:
- Participation and events – delivering more events at every level of the sport.
- People – celebrating, supporting and developing the people who deliver our sport throughout the world, at every level.
- Fans – encouraging fans to watch our athletes compete, getting to know and engage with them through new platforms and initiatives.
- Partnerships – increasing our current number of meaningful commercial and non-commercial partnerships to generate new financial and activation opportunities for our sport
World Athletics