India has opened informal talks over staging the 2030 Commonwealth Games in its centenary edition.
Any staging would be a boost for hockey’s chances of making it back on to the multi-games programme after the Olympic sport was axed for the revamped 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Ahmedabad has emerged as the leading host city, with Bhubaneswar also in the mix, according to reports in India.
In January, Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) officials were in India. CGF president Chris Jenkins and CEO Katie Sadlier attended multiple cities, while they were also present in Rourkela for the Hockey India League.
Host city officials have until the end of March to make a formal expression of interest.
It is learnt that during their conversation, Jenkins laid down the timelines, with March 31 being the deadline to submit an official Expression of Interest (EOI).
“CGF President Chris Jenkins was recently invited to attend the opening ceremony of the National Games in India, taking this opportunity to continue to strengthen ties between India, Commonwealth Games India, and Commonwealth Sport,” the CGF told the Indian Express.
“The CGF recently put out the call for Expressions of Interest for the 2030 Commonwealth Games and beyond, and, during his visit to India, President Jenkins had some informal chats around this process.”
Ahmedabad and Bhubaneswar have emerged as multi-sport powerhouses in recent years, with the former hoping to stage several championships across volleyball, u20 athletics and weightlifting, while the latter has world-class badminton and swimming venues in the city.
“Ahmedabad will already have a lot of venues ready in the next three to four years. These venues are being built to foster a sporting culture, regardless of whether India wins the bid to host the 2036 Olympics,” an official told the Indian Express.
Bhubaneswar could also be used as a hockey venue for the 2036 Olympics should India win the rights to be host city.
