Coe to monitor Qatar 'closely' ahead of World Championships

Sebastian Coe has pledged to monitor potential human rights abuses in Qatar "very, very closely" as Doha gears up to host the 2019 World Athletics Championships.

Lord Coe was forced to defend the IAAF awarding Qatari capital Doha the 2019 World Athletics Championships on launching his election manifesto for the presidency of the sport's governing body.

Human rights campaigners criticised the IAAF handing Qatar 2019's global athletics contest despite the country's ill-treatment of migrant workers, hundreds of whom have died building facilities for the 2022 football World Cup.

Coe will challenge fellow IAAF vice-president Sergei Bubka to succeed Lamine Diack in August, but has quickly found himself defending the bidding process for the 2019 World Athletics Championships.

"Yes absolutely, it is something we will monitor very, very closely," said Coe when quizzed on Qatar's human rights record.

"We will be as tough as we were in London (at the 2012 Olympics) in terms of controlling the supply chain as well as we possibly could, making sure that everything that was delivered in merchandising terms across the board was done to the best and highest possible standards.

"It is a discussion I had as chairman of the evaluation committee with the sports minister and interior minister in Qatar.

"I recognise there are political implications about taking sports into different environments and with that falls responsibility to international federations."

Doha edged out rival bids from Eugene and Barcelona to secure the 2019 world track and field competition after voting in Monaco last month.