Wasn’t Durban Supposed To Host It?
Durban, South Africa was supposed to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games and would’ve been the first African city to do so.
However, they were stripped of the right to do so after a number of problems such as missing deadlines and financial problems and the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) had enough of Durban failing to fulfill their promises.
As a result, the CGF is now looking for a new city to host the games and Malaysia has thrown their name into the hat.
Malaysia As The New Hosts?
The Star reported today that Malaysia is willing to replace Durban as the new hosts.
The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president, Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tunku Ja’afar chaired a three-hour meeting with the executive board yesterday and the outcome was Malaysia is ready to step in.
“We (OCM) are keen to host the Games as we had organized the Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998. We also have all the facilities and stadiums to organize the games,” Tunku Imran said in a press conference yesterday.
“We have the sports city in Bukit Jalil, which was built to organize the 16th edition on the Commonwealth Games in 1998.
However, Tunku Imran also said the bid will depend if the OCM gets the government approval to do so.
Malaysia though, won’t be the only one looking to be the new hosts of the 2022 Commonwealth Games and they are facing an amount of competition should they go through with the bid.
More Cities Ready To Host 2022 Edition
Gold Coast, Australia is not only hosting the next Commonwealth Games next year, but they are also ready to host the 2022 edition.
However according to Berita Harian, the Mayor of Gold Coast Tom Tate would not nominate the city as replacement hosts. Although he did say that if approached, they would be ready to host the 2022 Games as well.
“As long as it’s not requested, we won’t offer ourselves to organize the event,” Tate told the Australia Broadcastic Corporation (ABC).
“We are not in the list of candidates, but if they want us, we’ll do it. We’re ready.
“We are capable of doing it for 2018 and we’ll do it great, so great. And if you are capable of organizing it once, then you can do it again.”
It’s not only Gold Coast that is ready, but three England cities (Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham) are all reportedly interested to host the Commonwealth Games as all three cities have already met government officials about the matter.
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