India, Nigeria Submit Proposals To Host 2030 Centenary Commonwealth Games

India is not the only contender for the 2030 Commonwealth Games and will compete with Nigeria for the hosting rights of the multi-sport event, as the African nation has also submitted its formal bid before the August 31 deadline.

Commonwealth Sport (CS), the governing body of the CWG, confirmed on Monday that Nigeria has formally submitted its bid. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced on Friday that it had submitted the final bid documents to Commonwealth Sport for the 2030 CWG, with Ahmedabad as the preferred host city.

“India and Nigeria have submitted formal proposals to host the 2030 centenary Commonwealth Games by the deadline of 31 August 2025. This follows unprecedented, diverse and wide-ranging Expressions of Interest in hosting the Games in 2030 and beyond," Commonwealth Sport stated.

Both proposals will now be evaluated by an Evaluation Commission appointed by the CS Executive Board, including in-person presentations by the Candidate Hosts at a meeting in London in late September.

The Evaluation Commission will report its findings to the CS Executive Board, which will recommend a host to the 74 member nations and territories for approval at the General Assembly in late November in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Evaluation Commission is chaired by CS vice president Sandra Osborne, who also serves as the federation’s sports committee chair and president of the Barbados Commonwealth Games Association and Olympic Committee.

Other members of the Commission include CS Executive Board member Helen Phillips, CS Athletes’ Advisory Commission Chair Brendan Williams, Glasgow 2026 Organising Company vice chair Ian Reid, former executive director of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) Andrew Ryan, and CS Director of Games and Assurance Darren Hall (non-voting member).

Canada had earlier shown interest in bidding for the 2030 CWG but later withdrew due to budgetary constraints.

Commonwealth Sport (CS) President Donald Rukare said: “We are delighted to confirm that India and Nigeria have submitted exciting formal proposals to host the centenary edition of the Commonwealth Games in 2030.

“This positive response from two sporting powerhouse nations of the Commonwealth demonstrates the continued significance and legacy potential of the Commonwealth Games and the strength and appeal of our reimagined, sustainable Games model.

“The 2030 Evaluation Commission now has the important and difficult task of reviewing and evaluating the proposals and recommending a host to the Executive Board and ultimately, the 74 nation and territory members of the Commonwealth Sport Movement."

CS introduced a new collaborative host selection process for the Commonwealth Games in January, inviting its CGA members to express their interest for 2030 and future editions of the Commonwealth Games, with a deadline at the end of March.

Following this initial phase, CS worked closely with each interested CGA and their regional representatives to assess hosting feasibility and support the development of detailed proposals.

The CS 2023-2034 ‘Commonwealth United’ Strategic Plan, launched in June 2023, and ‘Games Reset’ allow a shift from the traditional host bidding process. They enable flexibility, offering potential hosts the opportunity to be innovative and work collaboratively through a co-creation process on proposals for delivering the Games, while ensuring that all Commonwealth Sport members can meaningfully participate.

With PTI Inputs