IAAF would move date for Qatar

Doha will attempt to expand its portfolio of blue riband international sporting events when it bids to host the 2017 World Athletics Championships.

The IAAF, the sport's governing body, said Sunday the city could bid for the event with a late September date to avoid the summer heat. Temperatures in Doha average more than 38°C from May to September.

Doha's only competition for the world championships will be London, after Barcelona and Budapest decided to drop out of contention.

London announced last month that its bid will be led by Lord Coe, who is the organising committee chairman for the London Olympics.

The IAAF will announce the winning bid at its meeting in Monaco on November 11.

Lamine Diack, the IAAF president, said the world championships could be pushed to the end of the season, about mid-September, with no major meetings scheduled later.

"It is possible that a date can vary," Diack said. "I will not be hostile to that, if it concludes the season."

Last week, Doha's 2020 Olympic Games bid received a boost when the International Olympic Committee executive board agreed to the city's request for a September 20-October 20 time frame to get way from the heat.

Bids for the 2020 Olympics had to be submitted by September 1, and the winning venue will be announced after the IOC membership votes in September 2013. Rome, Madrid, Istanbul, Tokyo and Baku, Azerbaijan, have also submitted bids.

Qatar already has won the right to host the first football World Cup in the Middle East in 2022. The event will be held in June in air-conditioned stadiums.