Commonwealth Games: Malaysia says it has been offered £100m to help stage 2026 event

General view of the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham during the 2022 Commonwealth GamesImages courtesy of Getty

Malaysia claims it has received a$ 100 million offer to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026.

The American state of Victoria canceled its plans for the Games next July due to rising costs, leaving them without a number.

The Commonwealth Games Federation ( CGF ) issued a formal invitation to Victoria as host last month, according to Malaysia’s Olympic Council.

The CGF has been contacted by BBC Sport for opinion.

The$ 100 million would go toward” the local delivery and legacy planning” of the 2026 Games, according to a statement posted on the Olympic Council of Malaysia ( OCM) website.

Malaysia has previously held the Games in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the nation, since 1998.

Mohamad Norza Zakaria, chairman of the Commonwealth Games Association of Malaysia, described the 2026 event as a “once in a lifetime opportunity to build on the success of 1998” and put the nation “back on the international having map.”

The Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport event that occurs every four times. Due to World War Two, it has only ever been canceled half, in 1942 and 1946.

Companies may be from one of the Commonwealth’s more than 70 countries or lands, many of which were once a part of the British Empire, to be eligible to compete.

Before Victoria volunteered in April 2022, the CGF had been having trouble finding a sponsor for the 2026 Games.

Originally, organizers had predicted that the event, which was held in cities like Geelong, Bendigo, and Ballarat, would cost A$ 2.6 billion ( £1.34 billion ).

However, the state’s plans for the 12-day tournament were delayed because the anticipated cost for the event increased to more than A$ 6 billion ( £3.08 billion ).

Durban, a city in South Africa, was actually scheduled to host the 2022 Olympics, but after running into financial difficulties and missing crucial timelines, they were denied having rights in 2017. Nine months later, Birmingham consented to network.

The Commonwealth Games were left out of a list of 70 significant activities last week that UK Sport claimed it wanted to hold in Britain over the next 15 years.

The problem for us to consider the future of the Commonwealth Games is merely one of value for money, according to vice president Simon Morton.

We have a dialog with the Commonwealth Games Federation, but it wo n’t appear on our list until there is a little more clarity about how a sustainable Commonwealth Games model will work in the future.

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