After an electrifying end to the 2024 Diamond League season, the track and field community is up for more action in the next year. The 2025 DL campaign will feature many prominent cities, out of which nine will be set on the European continent. However, this would become a huge issue for Ethiopian athletes due to the ongoing visa issues. 

While in sports, all athletes should be given the right to compete on the basis of their caliber, sometimes such kinds of issues arise that threaten many careers. These Ethiopian athletes can completely miss the 2025 Diamond League season due to this ongoing situation, as pointed out by the community on social media.

Concern for these track and field athletes

Ethiopia has produced many top track and field stars like Gudaf Tsegay, Letesenbet Gidey, Selemon Barega, and many more. However, an absence of many talents from a country that is very keen on the sport might make the Diamond League lose a lot of appeal out there. This issue was pointed out by an X user who goes by the username @angasurunning.

They stated that if the situation around Ethiopian athletes having troubles with European visas is not resolved prior to the start of the Diamond League season in 2025, it may cause a lot of athletes to miss many events on the calendar, which will also be very unprofessional from the event’s perspective.

Just like American and Jamaican athletes are popular in their own country and treated like celebrities, these Ethiopian athletes have their own followers, who thrive to watch them run. The 2024 Diamond League season saw many such track stars dominating the racecourse since the very first set of events in Xiamen. So, in which divisions were these Ethiopian athletes competing at the Egret Stadium?

In the men’s 5000m, Lamecha Girma was a second faster than the second-place finisher, showcasing the country’s potential in the sport. The same goes for the women’s 1500m, which saw a podium locked out by the Ethiopian athletes, Gudaf Tsegay, Birke Haylom, and Worknesh Mesele.

However, did these track stars maintain consistency over the year? The answer is yes. Many familiar Ethiopian names popped out on the results board throughout the whole Diamond League season at the top of the podium, and out of them, a few also shined at the grandest stage of track and field, the Olympic Games. Some of those athletes who participated in the distance races, like the men’s 10,000m and the women’s 800m, were Berihu Aregawi and Tsige Duguma, respectively.

Having such enormous talent makes these athletes continue their participation in events like the Diamond League. So, this visa issue should be resolved before the official season begins, as the calendar of the coveted event has undergone a ton of changes, heading into 2025.

The 2025 Diamond League calendar

Diamond League is an annual track and field that is anticipated by many, as it provides action throughout an entire season featuring various venues from around the world that provide different challenges, owing to several factors. This year, the finals were held in Brussels, which saw a houseful of track aficionados storming the King Baudouin Stadium.

For 2025, though, the calendar has seen a plethora of schedule changes, but just like last year, Xiamen will be the first city to host the meet on April 26. However, the final leg of the Chinese meet will be held in Shanghai on May 3. The track meet would then move to the European continent, as it will start from Rome on June 6. Diamond League events would further be held in Oslo, Stockholm, and Paris. 

However, in between these European track venues, DL would also go to Eugene and then come back to the continent, starting from Monaco. After visiting one of the smallest countries in the world, the next event will be featured in London, followed by Silesia, Lausanne, and Brussels. And the title decider of the 2025 Diamond League events will be held in Zurich.