They were awarded the event by the International Association of Athletics Federation's (IAAF) ruling Council on the second day of their meeting here. 

Asked if getting Farah - who is one of three men in the running for this year's IAAF World Athlete of the Year award tomorrow – to start his 2016 Olympic season in the Welsh capital was "the dream", Matt Newman, chief executive of Welsh Athletics, responded:

"Pretty much - I mean, that would be spectacular.

"It's two years out and looking at what Mo's programme looks like in detail this stage is maybe a bit early.

"But now we can start to position that to happen because that is top of our list in terms of what we want to happen for 2016."

Ed Warner, chairman of British Athletics, sounded a more prudent note - "At British Athletics we don't know what events Mo will be running in 2016. He's not run a marathon yet" - but added that running a World Half Marathon in Cardiff would be "spot on" in terms of preparation for any athlete going on to run the following month's London Marathon, both in terms of timing and geography.

Mo Farah, pictured third left running half of the 2013 Virgin London Marathon, is the top target for organisers of the 2016 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff @Getty Images

The Welsh capital, sole bidder for the event, will stage the race on the same waterfront course which hosts the annual Cardiff Half Marathon event in October.

It has built on the model proposed by Copenhagen, which will stage the World Half Marathon Championships next year, of integrating the race into a mass event.

Warner identified two elements which had been most persuasive in confirming the bid in the Council chamber just along the corridor.

"One is the course, because in order for this championship to be a success you have got to be able to deliver fast times, and the course is ideal in that regard," he said.

"So one of the things we made very clear to the IAAF was, it's a fast course.

"You can't get a flatter course - it's flat as a pancake - and the course record is 61 minutes, the women's is 71, so you've got to hope you'll get a sub 60 and a sub 70 for the winners of this race in 2016.

"And certainly another big plus was the integration with the mass race.

"The IAAF were very taken with the pitch made by Copenhagen, and we want to build on that.

"They are also very keen on social media and how that will involve the runners and spectators."

Cardiff officials celebrate being awarded the 2016 World Half-Marathon Championships by the International Association of Athletics Federations @IAAF

Arthur Emyr, head of Major Events for the Welsh Government, added: "We have been working on this for five and a half years.

"As I mentioned we have been particularly impressed with the Copenhagen model.

"But in a sense there is a Welsh twist to our approach which was recognised by the Council members, in that the Copenhagen bid have used this event to launch a mass event, whereas our approach has been that we will build the mass event first and demonstrate in absolute terms that we have something really big already, and with their support we can take it to the very top level of international road running.

"We have built a property that needed this support to go the extra mile, if you like.

"This is the latest achievement for a Team Wales partnership that in recent years has secured and delivered a whole raft of major international sporting events including the Rugby World Cup, the Ryder Cup, Ashes cricket, the list goes on.

"This will be the first major IAAF event that Wales will have hosted, so it's creating history and it's a landmark moment for Wales and all the partners involved.

"The timing of the event has been a big issue for the IAAF in recent times and coming to Cardiff at the end of March there is a strong consensus that this will provide a better opportunity to attract the elite runners and the global media platform.

"That ability to integrate a big mass festival around the event and to use great cities as a backdrop, that's a really compelling combination."

Warner added: "Pretty much the only opportunity for the man and woman in the street to compete in a world championships is to run in the World Half Marathon Championships.

"That's what Copenhagen are doing with the event in 2014.

"And that will be a large part of the appeal in Cardiff."

Chris Hespe, director of Sport, Leisure and Culture for Cardiff Council, commented: "In 2014 we will be hosting the Heineken Cup final, Ashes cricket and the European Super Cup, but its athletics that we are looking to build a long-term legacy around using the existing Cardiff Half-Marathon."

Briton Paula Radcliffe won the 2001 IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships in Bristol, the second occasion they had been staged in Britain @Getty Images

It will be the fourth occasion the Championships have been held in Britain.

The inaugural event was incorporated into the Great North Run between Gateshead and South Shields when the winners were Kenya's Benson Masya and Britain's Liz McColgan.

They were then held in Bristol in 2001 when Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie and Britain's Paula Radcliffe crossed the line first.

They were last held in Britain in 2009 when Birmingham hosted them and Eritrea's Zersenay Tadese and Kenya's Mary Keitany were the winners.

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