The Curzon Building at Birmingham City University (BCU) sits directly adjacent to the vast construction site of Curzon Street station, the future terminus for Britain’s high-speed rail line, HS2. Inside a university lecture theatre, another long-term project was being mapped out, with considerably more urgency.
Opening the 20th European Athletics Future Leaders Forum, European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov set the stage for an initiative reaching its milestone anniversary with undeniable institutional proof.
First staged in Gothenburg in 2006 with UNESCO support under the title Young Leaders Forum, the programme has evolved into a cornerstone of European track and field governance.
"You cannot just jump to a leadership position," said President Karamarinov. "To work in athletics is not just doing a job: it is a mission. My advice is to be good where you are, be dedicated, and climb the stairs step by step. This programme works because we need leaders with genuine passion for our sport.
"Twenty years ago we started this project, and today we see that it truly works. We already have alumni serving as General Secretaries leading their federations. You will leave Birmingham richer with new friendships, new relationships, and a new vision, because athletics needs people like you," added Karamarinov to the delegates from across Europe.
A survey of past participants revealed that 92 per cent remain active within the athletics movement, with 46 per cent steering youth or leadership initiatives and alumni now serving across European federations as presidents, executive board members, general secretaries, and directors in countries including Israel, Latvia, and Albania.
Standing alongside Karamarinov to address the 63 young delegates from 45 European Athletics member federations, World Athletics President Lord Coe dispensed with comfortable platitudes about patience and protocol.
“We are only ever temporary custodians of our sport,” Coe told the opening session. “If you simply reproduce the thinking of the generation before you, then you haven’t really developed as critically thinking leaders. Question the structures. Question the orthodoxies. When your time comes, your responsibility is to observe, re-engineer and refine what has come before.”
Throughout the week in Birmingham, delegates took part in a series of intensive keynote presentations, workshops, and panel sessions led by sports administrators, academics, and industry experts.
Designed to support their personal leadership development, these sessions challenged participants to look beyond traditional administrative comfort zones and provided the theoretical framework needed for their practical assignments.
That mindset was reinforced by BCU Chancellor and Paralympic medallist Ade Adepitan and Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Marcia Wilson. “Growth will not happen if you stay in your comfort zone,” Wilson said.
“Even if what you are about to do scares you, go and do it anyway.” Adepitan drew on his journey from an East London childhood in callipers to Paralympic success: “If all your players are guards, you will never win. You need different talents coming together to create an environment where everyone can be their best. Push yourselves, dare to make mistakes and leave no stone unturned.”
That philosophy was tested when the forum crossed the city centre to the Library of Birmingham for the Legacy Lab. Taking on the atmosphere of a live newsroom, delegates were given just four and a half hours to build pitch-ready operational blueprints addressing modern federation pressure points—spanning digital engagement, governance representation, competition design, and dual-career athlete retention.
The resulting proposals were unapologetically pragmatic. Working groups presented concepts including Athletes Connect, an automated, AI-assisted graphics platform for under-resourced grassroots clubs; Anti-Dropping, an international support and mentoring network to keep student-athletes connected through university transitions; and Athletes’ Voice, a structured pipeline embedding youth representatives directly onto national federation boards.
When European Athletics Executive Board members including Dobromir Karamarinov, Jean Gracia, Karin Grute Movin, Raul Chapado Serrano, Anna Kirnova and Christian Milz joined the floor for a direct question-and-answer session, the exchange was unsentimental.
Delegates pressed leadership on artificial intelligence, risk management, and commercial sustainability.
European Athletics CEO Christian Milz underlined the pace of change confronting governing bodies: “We live in a fascinating but challenging environment. Society is asking sports organisations not only what we deliver, but how we achieve it. You must adapt the sport to modern reality.”
European Athletics Vice President and Chair of the Development Commission, Karin Grute Movin confirmed that the Legacy Lab concepts will now feed directly into the European Athletics Development Commission for formal evaluation and potential rollout across member federations.
As Karamarinov brought the session to a close ahead of the final night of competition at Alexander Stadium, the evolution from Gothenburg 2006 was clear.
Over two decades, the Future Leaders Forum has shifted from an educational seminar into an operational engine. The emerging generation of European sports leaders are no longer waiting outside the boardroom door—they are already drafting the agenda.
"The ideas and energy in this room are the true legacy of Birmingham 2026,’ said Karamarinov in his closing address. "You will leave here with concrete plans, but more importantly, with a network of colleagues and lifelong friends across 44 federations who will shape European athletics together for decades to come."
"Twenty years on from Gothenburg, this forum continues to prove its immense value. You have challenged us, you have delivered real solutions, and now the responsibility is yours to turn these blueprints into action across Europe."