Asia Hosting The 2026 Commonweath Games Is Good For Regional Rugby Sevens

Since Victoria, Australia relinquished the rights to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, there has been a cloud hanging over the sporting event which also features Sevens Rugby. Malaysia and Singapore have now been linked to being potential surprise host/s – which we think would be great for rugby in the Asian region – but the chances seem slim.

It was widely reported in March 2024, that Malaysia’s Olympic Council received a formal invitation from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) to replace the Australian state of Victoria, and if the Southeast Asian nation agreed to host, it would be the second time Malaysia does so, previously hosting in 1998.

Singapore is also reportedly assessing the feasibility of an invitation by the CGF to stage the 2026 edition of the Games, as all member associations – including Singapore – were asked to express interest in hosting the 2026 Games.

Since the inaugural edition of the Commonwealth Games in 1930, only twice has it been held in Asia – in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998 and New Delhi, India in 2010.

The most recent Commonwealth Games took place in Birmingham, UK in 2022, with the Australian women and South African men picking up gold in Rugby Sevens.

Malaysia is also set to host the SEA Games in 2027, and Singapore will host it in 2029 – the regional sporting event also includes rugby 7s and is an important source of funding from the Olympic Committees for participating nations, as well as being a good regular means of competition in the region.

No rugby was included in the two most recent SEA Games hosted by Vietnam and Cambodia, but with both countries hosting the SEA Games in the near future, the concern over the cost of hosting the Commonwealth Games might dissuade Malaysia and Singapore from hosting in 2026.

Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 – Australian women won gold in Rugby 7s

Rugby 7s – Commonwealth Games 2026

Some of the best sevens teams on the planet are eligible to compete for the Commonwealth Games – Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, South Africa, the GB nations (Scotland, Wales, England), Samoa and Kenya to name but a few.

A total of 54 Commonwealth of Nations countries and 18 territories are eligible to compete at the games which take place every four years. From Asia, this extends to rugby-playing nations such as Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Singapore.

Malaysia and Sri Lanka were the only participating nations for rugby in Birmingham in 2022 – and should Malaysia or Singapore host the Games in 2026, it would seem reasonable that they could both enter women’s and men’s teams.

Commonwealth Games 2022 – Sri Lanka 7s

This would give them a fantastic opportunity to play high-calibre teams and should give the respective Unions a great roadmap of international and regional tournaments to plan their development strategy around.

Also having some of the best 7s players on the planet in Southeast Asia open up doors to having a variety of sports workshops – a concurrent Asian rugby development 7s tournament to run alongside the Games, and much greater visibility and opportunities for all types of rugby and youth development.

Will Malaysia Host The 2026 Commonwealth Games?

It was reported that Malaysia had been offered UK£100 million (US$128 million) to assist in hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games, according to the Malaysian Olympic Council.

They added, “Following a formal invitation from the CGF to the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), OCM started discussions with the Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia on the possibility of staging the 2026 Commonwealth Games following the withdrawal of winning bidder Victoria last year.”

Mohamad Norza Zakaria, president of Commonwealth Games Malaysia, believes they have the facilities and know-how, adding “The hosting will involve minimal government spending and bring significant socio-economic benefits to the country. It will also elevate the standard of Malaysian sports much like the way it did in the aftermath of the 1998 Games. To this end, the CGF and CGA Malaysia have offered an attractive proposal to the government of Malaysia.”

However, on Friday, March 22, 2024, the media reported that the Malaysian government had decided against hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games because of the costs (the same reason Australia pulled out).

Although it may not be the end of the hosting story for Asia – it is/was hoped a downscaled version of the Commonwealth Games could be an option for 2026 to keep the costs down.

Even a 2026 Commonwealth Games that could be co-hosted by Singapore and Malaysia – a plan we would be a fan of if the costs made sense – and if it featured Rugby Sevens, of course.

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