Team Nigeria will storm the United Kingdom as the Scottish government has agreed a rescue deal for a scaled-down version of the 2026 Commonwealth Games to be hosted by Glasgow, after Australian authorities offered a “multimillion-pound commitment” to save the event.
The Australian state of Victoria abruptly withdrew as host of the 2026 Games in July 2023, blaming escalating costs.
Since then, speculation has grown about whether Glasgow could build on its successful hosting of the event in 2014, amid concerns from the Scottish and UK governments about financing the event.
Last Friday, Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) offered Scotland almost $A200m (£100m) from the Victorian government’s $A380m owed compensation for pulling out of hosting the event.
The announcement was made after a meeting of the Scottish cabinet on Tuesday morning, and after Scotland’s health secretary, Neil Gray, met representatives of Commonwealth Games Australia and Commonwealth Games Scotland on Monday.
The decision remains subject to formal approval from Commonwealth Games Scotland and the CGF.
Recall at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Team Nigeria amassed 12 gold, nine silver and 14 bronze medals, bringing the numbers to a total of 35 medals, and finished 7th on the log.
