The hugely experienced 68-year-old Norwegian - who will be up against Finland's Antti Pihlakoski of Finland and Jean Gracia of France in the contest to succeed the man who has held the post since 1999, Switzerland's Hansjorg Wirz - has published a manifesto entitled Leading Change.

Hansen, who narrowly lost the last Predential election to Wirz in 2011 by 28 votes to 22, is targeting five key areas for change - boosting Member Federations, energising and rewarding athletes, consolidating and reinvigorating commercial activity, re-casting the competition schedule and bringing more recreational runners into the International Federation's orbit.

Voting is due to take place at the European Athletics Congress in Bled, Slovenia, on April 11.

Svein Arne Hansen's manifesto Leading Change calls for changes in the competition schedule ©Svein-Arne Hansen

The new President will serve a four-year term, but will need, for the first time, to give up any other professional commitment in order to take the job up on a full-time paid role.

In its presentation, and some of its key points, Hansen's manifesto strikes numerous echoes with that released last month by Sebastian Coe, who is running to succeed Lamine Diack this year as the International Association of Athletics Federations President - a target which Ukraine's former pole vault world record holder Sergei Bubka officially announced for himself yesterday.

Coe, a long-time friend and ally of Hansen's who appears with him on one of the pictures featured on the new website, called for reform of a world athletics calendar which he said "seems disjointed, lacks purpose, a narrative and the essential glue to build excitement and a loyal and passionate following.

At 68, two years under the age limit for the Presidency, Hansen will only be eligible for a one four-year term of office.

But he insists this would be an advantage.

"I will have no political concerns about re-election in 2019 and be free to concentrate on the work at hand," he says in his manifesto, which has been launched on a dedicated website, www.svein4president.com.

"My sole aim will be to lead a four-year programme with a perspective well beyond my mandate."

Svein-Arne Hansen's manifesto Leading Change shares some similarities with the one launched by his friend and ally Sebastian Coe (left) last month in announcing his running for the IAAF Presidency ©Svein-Arne Hansen

Among the initiatives Hansen proposes is providing "financial incentives to attract the best athletes to the European Athletics Championships" and putting on "European only events" in one-day meetings.

He also wants a "logical annual calendar with a clear narrative linking European one-day meetings and championships."

This would involve re-structuring the European Team Championships and supporting new events, including the European Half-Marathon Championships and a European Relays Championship.

In order to strengthen the position of Member Federations, Hansen wants to bring in new uniform advertisement rules for international competitions and coordinated marketing of the athletics brand plus a strategy for accessing European Union project funding.

Svein Arne Hansen will be able to serve only one term if he is elected President of European Athletics if he is elected but claims this is a strength ©Svein Arne Hansen

"To sum up," Hansen, President of the Norwegian Athletics Federation since 2003, writes,

"I see a future in which European Athletics has a very different culture: more inclusive, more dynamic, more commercial and more visible.

"We will be an organisation that looks forward, not backward, we will embrace change and innovation, and we will act decisively to grow our sport in all corners of Europe."

To read Hansen's full manifesto click here. 

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