UPDATED - IAAF May Jointly Award 2017, 2019 Championships

(ATR) The IAAF is said to be considering jointly awarding the 2017 and 2019 athletics world championships.

Around the Rings is told that the awarding of the two championships is currently being discussed among members of the IAAF Council who are in Monaco, ahead of the Nov. 11 vote.

Doha and London are campaigning for the 2017 championship.

Previously, talk of awarding two consecutive championships has been dismissed by the IAAF.

ATR is told that IAAF officials now want to consider such a situation to avoid losing the opportunity of having two cities capable of hosting athletics’ premier event.

Confirmation from IAAF was not immediately available.

The IAAF has selected two consecutive world champ host cities before, such as Daegu for 2011 and Moscow for 2013.

UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday that the British capital would hope to be selected for 2017 should the IAAF decide to award 2019 as well.

Warner insisted London was not in a position to accept the 2019 championships because finances to underwrite that event from the existing coalition of funding partners - the government, UK Sport and UK Athletics - could not be guaranteed to the IAAF due to the changing economic and political climate.

"We have all our stars aligned for 2017," Warner told reporters. "It's [the guarantees for 2017] been the work of some considerable time and we just can't be sure we would be able to do that again in a sensible timeframe."

Warner, who has just arrived in Monaco ahead of Friday's IAAF vote on the host city, said he had not heard directly from the track-and-field body that awarding the 2017 and 2019 world championships was being discussed.

"We are there for the 2017 pitch and we sincerely hope we win it," he added.

While the athletics legacy of the London Olympic stadium has been a contentious issue, London 2017 backers say the new tender for a post-Games tenant of the London Olympic Stadium requires a 99-year legacy for athletics at the arena.

Two football clubs, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham emerged as the leading tenants but West Ham’s deal collapsed in early October, leading to a new tender.

Doha 2017 announced on Tuesday the bid has "the full support of the Qatari government."

In a statement, Qatari Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani said: "Sport is central to our national vision and we want the great sport of Athletics to have new opportunities in our country and in the Middle East."

Written by Ed Hula III.