World Athletics announced Nielsen, which is considered to be a global leader in sports intelligence, media measurement and research, as its official supplier of consumer market research services for the next four years.

It is understood Nielsen will deliver sports data and insights across the sport and its events, including the World Athletics Championships at Oregon in 2022 and Budapest in 2023 and the World Athletics Indoor Championships at Nanjing in 2021 and Belgrade in 2022.

World Athletics claim Nielsen's research programme will provide them with "a holistic view of its own organisation, brand and key stakeholders" as well as "sharp insights into global athletics fans".

These services are set to include consumer surveys, brand tracking, spectator experience evaluation, social and economic impact assessments for host cities and consumer research surveys for sponsors.

Marco Nazzari, managing director at Nielsen Sports International, said: "We're delighted and honoured to have been selected as the official consumer research supplier to World Athletics.

"Nielsen Sports' market-leading research tools and experts transform large datasets into actionable insights enabling governing bodies to validate activities, decisions and outputs.

"We're confident that our research will provide World Athletics with a better understanding of their fans and spectators, empowering them to optimise key global events and positively impact how the sport of athletics is followed throughout the world."

According to research carried out by Nielsen in 2019, the majority of athletics fans are older than 25-years-old with the core group aged between 25 and 44.

It also found that 66 per cent of fans felt grassroots athletics was deserving of more investment while 70 per cent would like to see more athletics on television.

World Athletics President Seb Coe said Nielsen would be a valuable addition to the sport's global network of commercial partners.

"This relationship is a perfect fit for World Athletics as we set our course for growth and innovation over the next four years," Coe said.

"Evidence-based intelligence has become increasingly important in informing the commercial decisions we must make to steer our sport successfully in this ever-changing world.

"Nielsen is uniquely positioned to help World Athletics deliver on its mission to grow the sport of athletics and create globally appealing and accessible competitions."

This agreement is set to be delivered with the support of World Athletics' global commercial partner Dentsu Inc.