The sixth edition of the Absa Kipkeino Classic will take place in Nairobi on May 31.

According to communication from World Athletics, a total of 13 Gold-level meetings across five continents, events in iconic venues, and the participation of athletics’ biggest stars—the World Athletics Continental Tour returns in 2025, offering an exciting opportunity to connect thousands of athletes with fans around the globe.

The 2025 World Athletics Continental Tour is back, delivering an electrifying calendar of 13 Gold-level meets spanning different regions. Set to be one of the most exhilarating competitions in the international athletics scene, this sixth edition kicks off on 29 March in Melbourne, Australia, and will act as the perfect prelude to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo later that year.

The tour opens with the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne, where the world will witness sprinting sensation Letsile Tebogo, the reigning World Athlete of the Year, in action. Two weeks later, the spectacle heads to Gaborone, Botswana, before touching down in Tokyo on 18 May for the Golden Grand Prix—a dress rehearsal for the World Championships which will take place in the same city come September.

May’s packed schedule continues with stops in Zagreb (22-24 May), Bydgoszcz (30 May), and Nairobi (31 May). June heats up with five high-profile meets in Los Angeles (8 June), Hengelo (9 June), Turku (17 June), New York City (21 June), and Ostrava (24 June). The action then moves to Szekesfehervar, Hungary, on 12 August, before the tour’s grand finale in Beijing on 7 September, mere days before the World Championships.

The 2024 edition of the Continental Tour saw participation from over 20,000 athletes representing nearly 200 countries, resulting in jaw-dropping achievements: one world record, 12 area records, 205 national records, and a staggering 7,146 personal bests. This resounding success has cemented the tour’s reputation as a premier athletics circuit, with competitions organised across four tiers: Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Challenger.

Gold-level meets sit at the pinnacle, attracting the cream of the crop of global athletics to compete at iconic venues, with significant prize money and unparalleled competition. More than just a showcase of talent, the tour is a proving ground for athletes preparing for the World Athletics Championships. “The 2025 calendar is designed to optimise athlete performance while providing fans with a unique and unforgettable spectacle,” said Fernando Reis, the tour’s technical director.

The series finale in Beijing on 7 September promises a thrilling climax, setting the stage for the Tokyo World Championships. This carefully curated schedule ensures athletes peak at the perfect time for the season’s decisive showdown. Thanks to its geographically varied roster, the 2025 tour guarantees world-class athletics across every corner of the globe—from Melbourne’s beaches to New York’s streets, and Europe’s historic stadiums to Asia’s vibrant arenas. This worldwide reach not only enhances the competitive field but also brings fans closer to the sport, uniting communities through shared passion.

Each meet offers a platform to inspire the next generation of athletes while promoting athletics at a grassroots level. With World Athletics’ renewed commitment to excellence, the 2025 edition is poised to set new benchmarks for the sport.As well as Haaland’s happiness in Manchester and Cheshire, one reason why none of the previous clauses were activated is that only one club could feasibly afford him, and they have not been in the market.

Within minutes of putting pen to paper last week, Pimenta was keen to thank Begiristain for his role in getting Haaland to City in the first place. “I think you’re key for all of this, Txiki,” she said, in a video released by the club, “because your conversations with Erling brought him here.”

At the end of 2021 and heading into the new year, Haaland had been leaning towards a move to Real Madrid, at a time when the Spanish side were deciding whether to sign him or Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe, but with a preference for the latter.

One of the reasons Haaland looked favourably on a move to Madrid was because he felt La Liga is less physically demanding and he could therefore prolong his career. Begiristain, though, told him that City would help protect his body by resting him where possible and doing everything they could behind the scenes to keep him fresh.

In Madrid, Begiristain argued, Haaland would have to play all the time, because of pressure from the president, Florentino Perez.

Two years later, Haaland was still being discussed as a possible signing for Madrid by senior figures, who wanted to be kept abreast of his contract situation.

It was at a time when Mbappe’s move from PSG was being put in place — but some at Madrid felt that Haaland would be a better fit, and also less controversial than the Frenchman. Mbappe had already publicly snubbed Madrid and carried a bad reputation with some, which Haaland, despite choosing City over Madrid, did not have.

Around Christmas 2023, the feeling at the top level of Madrid was that they could sign either Haaland or Mbappe the following summer.

In the end, Perez was elected for Mbappe and no serious interest in Haaland materialised. Given the size of the commitment that Haaland has made to City, it would be reasonable to suggest that he might not have been up for the move anyway, no matter his previous desires.

It has been tempting to conclude that Haaland’s commitment to City suggests that he has no concerns about the outcome of the hearing into the 129 Premier League charges levelled against the club. The club’s message to football staff on the very day that the charges dropped in February 2023 was that they were confident they would clear their name and for everybody to focus on matters on the pitch. To this day, that is about as far as the conversation has gone.

Despite the length of negotiations ahead of Haaland’s contract being signed, news was generally kept under wraps. Every few months, there would be reports about City’s confidence in striking a new deal but few other details. Even members of Guardiola’s first-team staff were unaware of the deal, certainly the length of it, until news broke on Friday morning. Incidentally, that was also the case with Guardiola’s renewal in November, itself a shock in the sense that nobody had been expecting a two-year extension.

Haaland would not have known about Guardiola’s intentions to stay around the time that he had more or less decided to stay in September, because Guardiola himself had not known what he was planning to do.

While Guardiola’s continued presence is considered a big positive for Haaland, his comfort at the club extends far beyond the manager’s influence. That much is clear from the fact that he intends to stay at the club for so long into the future that it is difficult to imagine how the football landscape, let alone life at City, will look.

Haaland feels he is in exactly the right place.