Malaysia has announced that it has received an offer of £100 million to support the hosting of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The hosting of the Games is currently vacant following the cancellation of plans by the Australian state of Victoria last July due to escalating costs.
Last month, Malaysia’s Olympic Council confirmed receiving a formal invitation from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) to take over as hosts.
The CGF has indicated that it is engaged in “advanced discussions” with potential hosts.
A statement posted on the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) website highlighted that the £100 million offer would contribute to “local delivery and legacy planning” for the 2026 Games.
Malaysia previously hosted the Games in its capital, Kuala Lumpur, in 1998.
President of Commonwealth Games Association of Malaysia Mohamad Norza Zakaria said the chance to host in 2026 was a “once in a lifetime opportunity to build on the success of 1998” and put the country “back on to the world sporting map”.
A CGF spokesman told BBC Sport that £100m of “financial and strategic support” has been made available for potential hosts as part of Victoria’s withdrawal settlement.
A statement read: “The CGF is in advanced, confidential discussions with potential hosts to secure a solution for the 2026 Games that inspires athletes and helps transform the Games to a truly sustainable model.
“Malaysia has a fantastic track record of delivering sporting events and the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur were hugely successful. We are encouraged by their early concepts of building on this legacy through use of many of the same world-class facilities.
“We welcome innovative proposals and are in positive discussions with potential hosts. We are committed to providing an update on the expedited process, and giving greater clarity to our stakeholders and athletes, as soon as possible.”
The Commonwealth Games, a quadrennial multi-sport event, has only faced cancellation twice in its history, in 1942 and 1946, due to World War Two.
Athletes wishing to participate must hail from one of the Commonwealth’s 70-plus nations or territories, many of which were formerly part of the British Empire.
The search for a host for the 2026 Games had proven challenging for the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) until Victoria offered to host in April 2022.
Originally, organizers anticipated the event, spread across cities such as Geelong, Bendigo, and Ballarat, would cost A$2.6 billion (£1.34 billion). However, projected expenses for the 12-day tournament soared to over A$6 billion (£3.08 billion), leading the state to withdraw its plans.
Initially designated to host the 2022 Games, Durban, South Africa, lost hosting rights in 2017 due to financial difficulties and missed deadlines. Birmingham stepped in as the replacement host nine months later.
Recently, the Commonwealth Games was conspicuously absent from a list of 70 major events that UK Sport aimed to host in the next 15 years.
Deputy CEO Simon Morton said: “The challenge for us thinking about the Commonwealth Games in the future is simply a value for money one, rather than does it have benefit?
“We’ve got an open dialogue with the Commonwealth Games Federation, but until there is a little bit more clarity on what a sustainable Commonwealth Games model looks like in the future, it doesn’t appear on our list.”