Major shake up planned amid fears 2022 Commonwealth Games could be the last

The next Commonwealth Games could be the last.

July’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham could be the final one if the Andrews government doesn’t step in to bail out the Games Federation, and stage the 2026 event in regional Victoria.

However the excessive cost and possible COVID-19 restrictions are believed to be a major stumbling block.

The Age’s leading sports writer Roy Masters claims there are only three nations still interested in staging the Games — Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

In a bid to save the Games, organisers have thrown the rules out the window, declaring track and field, and swimming are the only two prescribed sports.

Everything else is on the table.

In a major shake up, alternative youth-oriented sports will be asked to apply in the hope of increasing TV ratings and extending the competition beyond the borders of the Commonwealth.

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