The land of (lost) candidacies

The disappointment over Rome’s failure to secure the World Athletics Championships stems not only from sport. It stems from the fact that the defeat at the hands of Nairobi – with Munich chosen for 2031 – is part of a sequence of events that, over the last four years, has become too long to be dismissed as a series of coincidences. Italy has secured the 2032 European Football Championship, certainly, but jointly with Turkey. Otherwise, whenever there has been a bid for a major event, a European hosting role or an international post, all too often we have come away empty-handed. Rome received just 17 votes for Expo 2030, compared with Riyadh’s 119, finishing behind even Busan. Alessandra Perrazzelli was beaten by Germany’s Claudia Buch in the race to head the ECB’s Banking Supervision. Rome lost out on AMLA, the new European anti-money laundering authority, which ended up in Frankfurt. And when Italy put itself forward for the post of NATO Special Envoy for the Southern Flank, the choice fell on Spain’s Javier Colomina. Now it is athletics’ turn. And here, too, there is a political and sporting backstory. In 2027, Sebastian Coe will complete his third and final term as head of World Athletics, and the Beijing Congress will elect his successor, the vice-presidents and the new Council.

The race for alliances has therefore already begun. Nairobi will bring the World Championships to Africa for the first time. And within the Italian Athletics Federation, there are those who interpret this decision within the context of the electoral landscape: on the eve of Coe’s succession, having the African federations on one’s side could carry significant weight. The lesson is clear. Major bids are not won solely on the strength of bid documents, facilities and tradition. They are won by building coalitions, political capital and relationships. Italy has increased its international visibility and can boast a stability that others lack. Precisely for this reason, the outcome carries even greater weight. Being present at the negotiating table matters. But every now and then, to prove that you really carry weight, you also need to win.