Malaysia (Commonwealth) _ A £100 million offer has been made to Malaysia to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026 by the Commonwealth Games Federation. Following Victoria, the Australian state,’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth Games last year due to rapidly rising expenses, the Commonwealth Games Federation has been looking for alternative hosts.
Now, the CGF has informed 1998 hosts Malaysia that they will assist pay for the delivery of the event if they agree to take on the responsibility of producing it, in a desperate bid to prevent the Games from being canceled for the first time since the Second World War.
In a statement released on Monday, the Olympic Council of Malaysia said, “The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has extended an offer to Malaysia to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026 in lieu of Victoria.” “The offer includes a substantial financial commitment of £100 million to assist with the 2026 edition’s delivery locally and legacy planning.”
Commonwealth Games Malaysia President Mohamad Norza Zakaria continued, saying that CGA Malaysia believes the Government of Malaysia need to take into account this once-in-a-lifetime chance, which would build on the triumph of Kuala Lumpur 1998 and reestablish Malaysia as a major global sports nation.
With its current state-of-the-art facilities, Malaysia is prepared to hold a major international event including 74 Commonwealth countries and territories. The country would reap substantial socio-economic advantages from the hosting with little expenditure from the government.
Additionally, it will raise Malaysian sporting standards, much as it did in the wake of the 1998 Games. In order to do this, the Government of Malaysia has received an enticing proposal from the CGF and CGA Malaysia. The United Kingdom has eliminated itself from consideration to serve as the 2026 host nation, having hosted the previous Games in Birmingham in 2022.
The Canadian state of Alberta dropped its application for the CGF in the summer, therefore it is now necessary to choose a host for 2030. According to a CGF representative, the organization is in advanced, private talks with prospective hosts to ensure that the 2026 Games have a plan that motivates athletes and contributes to the transformation of the Games into a really sustainable model.
These talks come after we informed members during our General Assembly in November of last year that the Victoria pullout settlement would provide £100 million in strategic and financial support. Malaysia has a great history of organizing athletic events; the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games in 1998 were an enormous success.
Their early ideas about expanding on this heritage by utilizing many of the same top-notch facilities give us hope. We are in constructive conversations with possible hosts and appreciate creative suggestions. We pledge to give our athletes and stakeholders more information as soon as we can, along with an update on the accelerated process. Malaysia first participated in the Commonwealth Games in 1966 in Kingston, Jamaica, where they won five medals in all. Malaysia joined the Commonwealth in 1957.
With the exception of the 1986 competition in Edinburgh, Malaysia, which is located in South East Asia to the south of Thailand and north of the equator, has participated in every Commonwealth Games since its founding.
In every Games they have participated in, Malaysia has taken home medals, with special success in badminton. However, their greatest collection of gold and silver medals occurred in 1998, when the capital city of Kuala Lumpur hosted the Commonwealth Games, making Asian history. Thanks to Mohd Mansor, they took home six gold medals at Glasgow 2014: three in badminton, one each in squash, diving, and weightlifting.
The National Olympic Committee of the nation was acknowledged in May 1954, but the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) was not established until May 5, 1963. Malaysia’s participation in the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and Commonwealth Youth Games is currently under the OCM’s jurisdiction.
Since 1966, Malaysia has participated in every Commonwealth Games. The nation participated as Malaya (MAL) at the Commonwealth Games in 1950, 1958, and 1962. North Borneo (BNB), or present-day Sabah, and Sarawak (SAR) participated in the Commonwealth Games independently in 1958 and 1962, although neither country took home any medals. In 1963, they were both included as states into the newly formed Malaysia.
One time, in 1998, Malaysia served as the Games’ host city in Kuala Lumpur. With 228 medals altogether (66 gold, 73 silver, and 89 bronze), Malaysia finished tenth in the medal count and eleventh overall in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
