India face challenge from major African nation in bid to host Commonwealth Games 2030

India is not the lone bidder for the 2030 Commonwealth Games and will face competition from Nigeria to get the hosting rights of the multi-sporting 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, on Monday (September 1, 2025) confirmed Nigeria’s formal submission of the bid. Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Friday (August 29, 2025) said it has submitted the final bid documents to Commonwealth Sport for the 2030 CWG, with Ahmedabad as its 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 said in a statement.

India vs Nigeria to host Commonwealth Games 2030

Both proposals will now be assessed 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.

Joining Sandra Osborne on the Commission are 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 Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) Andrew Ryan and CS Director of Games and Assurance Darren Hall (non-voting member).

Canada had also earlier expressed interest to bid for the 2030 CWG but later withdrew citing 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 launched a new collaborative host selection process for the Commonwealth Games in January, inviting its CGA members to lodge their interest for 2030 and future editions of the Commonwealth Games, with a deadline of 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 move away from a 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.