Safaricom on Friday announced a Sh66.5 million sponsorship for the World Athletics Under 20 Championships, slated for August 17-22 at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani.

According to Safaricom, the sponsorship will cater for internet during the entire, including connectivity at the fully kitted media centre and media tribune.

Internet access will also extend to the score recorders’ office, event management office and Nyayo Stadium, which is reserved as training ground, Covid-19 testing and accreditation centre for all athletes.

"We are thrilled to be supporting this unique event which brings together over 1,000 young competitors from around the world and we hope that the Kenyan participants will draw inspiration from the athletes who represented the country at the Olympics, said CEO Safaricom Peter Ndegwa.

He added, “We look forward to an exciting championship and cannot wait to cheer on the upcoming stars as they go beyond and represent their respective nations.”

Kenyan athletes will be seeking to improve their performance from the 2017 IAAF under 18 championships which were also held at the same venue.

Kenya at the time finished 4th overall and 2nd in the African continent after bagging 15 medals, including 4 gold.

More than 1,000 competitors from 128 countries are set to compete in the global track and field event, which was postponed from last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kenya is the defending champion of the World Under 20 competition after topping the medal standings in Tampere, Finland in the last edition in 2018.