Birmingham made to wait over Commonwealth Games bid

The Commonwealth Games Federation said it is close to confirming the replacement for Durban, which was stripped in March, but "require(s) further clarification on a range of issues".

Birmingham thought it had won the race to stage the Games in September when the city emerged as the only bigger - only for the federation to deem its bid not "fully compliant".

The extended deadline for further bids or expressions of interest passed last week with no more evident developments despite the federation claiming to have examined bids or prospective bids from as many as eight cities.

Although Birmingham remains the overwhelming favourite to host the 2022 event, this week's news will come as a blow to their hopes of beginning their relatively short cycle as official host city.

It is believed the Commonwealth Games Federation's reluctance to confirm the move is related to a desire for clarification of government guarantees - one of the main reasons why the Durban bid floundered in March.

In a statement following a meeting of the 2018 Commonwealth Games Coordination Commission on the Gold Coast, the federation said: "It is essential that we have fully examined all aspects of the cities' bid submissions and expressions of interest, and that we are fully satisfied that the ultimate host for 2022 is capable of staging a Games that fully delivers for Commonwealth athletes and host communities.

"The Commonwealth Games Federation is close to making a decision to select the host city of the 2022 Games. We thank all nations who have participated in the process.

"We are also close to achieving significant Games legacy objectives, however we have been asked to provide a little more time in order for these to be realised, and - in the interest of good partnership - we have decided to allow this.

"The Commonwealth Games Federation is confident that we will make a final decision regarding the selection of a host city for 2022 before the year-end, but we will continue to remain flexible and collaborative in a true sense of partnership with potential hosts so that, above all, we have a decision that the entire Commonwealth can get behind."

Birmingham 2022 bid team chairman Ian Ward said the city would continue to seek to demonstrate its status as the outstanding candidate to host the Games.

Councillor Ward, also leader of Birmingham City Council, said in a statement: "Birmingham, the Government and Commonwealth Games England are continuing to have productive discussions with the Commonwealth Games Federation as we enter the final stages of what has been a collaborative and positive process within a challenging time-frame.

"It's a hugely significant decision and we welcome the robustness of the process.

"All our efforts have been focused on demonstrating that Birmingham would make the ideal host for the 2022 Games.

"We look forward to a decision from the Commonwealth Games Federation in the near future."