Speaking from Kyiv, Bubka – who has chaired the IAAF Development Commission since 2011 -  said he will create tailored development plans for every National Federation should he be voted in as successor to Lamine Diack at the IAAF Congress in Beijing on August 19.

Coe,  meanwhile, speaking from Nicaragua where he is attending the Greater Central American Championships, has pledged to ensure that the IAAF invests more revenues more directly to its Federations for development purposes.

“These reserves do not belong to the IAAF - they belong to all the Member Federations and should now be invested to develop and grow the sport worldwide," he said. 

Coe also promised a full review of IAAF development programmes to ensure they better meet the specific requirements of Member Federations and their local needs, something which could be taken as a criticism of what Bubka has achieved in his role. 

 “After travelling the world and meeting so many of the hard working representatives of IAAF Member Federations, I am convinced that the time has come to ensure that IAAF redistributes more revenues more directly to its Member Federations for development purposes,” said Coe.

“I will reveal more details about this plan and my commitments nearer to the Congress in Beijing, but the principle is clear: these reserves do not belong to the IAAF - they belong to all the Member Federations and should now be invested to develop and grow the sport worldwide.

“We need to move to a structure that is less prescriptive and centrally driven from Monaco to one that is more devolved and focused on what each Member Federation, particularly those with limited resources, actually need on the ground.

“We have a duty to listen more closely to the needs of the Federations, to ensure that resources can be directed from the centre in areas that they have identified as a priority.

“By delivering an improved and more tailored approach, we will help each country develop more naturally, and they will feel a more direct connection to the IAAF.

“We are, after all, the ‘Association of Athletics Federations’ so everything the IAAF does must reflect this.

“The role of the IAAF’s Regional Development and High Performance Centres (RDC) also needs to be reviewed.

“We need to think more in terms of bringing the RDCs to the Federations and that is why I want to see the introduction of Mobile Regional Development Centres to supplement the RDCs where skilled people, rather than buildings, can connect with and support Member Federations year round.

Coe also believes Member Federations will benefit directly from a renewed focus on IAAF commercial growth if he is elected President.

“I hope that the connection between the IAAF’s commercial success and growing Development Programmes is clearly understood," he said. 

“I am very confident about my own commercial background and my proven experience of raising money in a sports’ environment.”

As one of the key pillars of his programme, ‘Taking Athletics to the New Heights,’ Bubka wants IAAF officials to visit every National Federation individually and meet with the local Governments to discuss ways to develop athletics.

“My goal is to use an individual approach for every National Federation just as a coach uses different techniques for the different athletes he trains," he said. 

“I would like to create several groups, dividing the National Federations depending on the level of support that they require.

“A special pool of experts, which I aim to create in every region, will have the ability to react quickly to each National Federation request if they need urgent help.

“Development of our sport is impossible without modern facilities and top quality competitions starting at grassroots level.

“That is why every National Federation will have a synthetic track as a matter of priority in the coming years.

“Pillar four in my programme discusses creating new competitions and formats to engage with athletes at grassroots level and provide opportunities for developing them.

“These include new regional competitions (such as Balkanation, CARIFTA Games and Bolivarian Games etc.) and promoting mixed gender competitions.

“New grants need to be established within the IAAF to boost and support such competitions.”

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