Axed Glasgow Commonwealth Games sports can ‘absolutely’ return

Australia’s Commonwealth Games head is confident the event will survive a reduced program in 2026 missing several key sports.

Commonwealth Games Australia will push for unprecedented changes to secure funding for more than a dozen sports caught in a brutal cull ahead of the 2026 Glasgow Games.

CGA boss Craig Phillips was adamant the event would live on in 2030 and beyond after hockey, rugby sevens and diving were among the victims of a trimmed-down program featuring only 10 sports.

Phillips said there was “absolutely” hope for sports to return in 2030 and that Australia would even consider bidding to host the 2030 or 2034 event despite the botched bid to hold the 2026 Games in regional Victoria, which cost taxpayers $380 million.

He said the CGA would vote on a change to its constitution which would allow the axed sports to return as full members of the organisation amid an outcry from some.

Under the current constitution, all sports that missed the program in Glasgow lost their full memberships.

Rugby sevens was among the 14 disciplines axed from the 2026 Commonwealth Games program. Picture: Richard Heathcote / Getty Images

“We know there’s a lot of disappointment out there with our athletes. We really understand it. I guess it’s a measure of how important the Commonwealth Games is to our athletes and sports that there is that disappointment,” Phillips said.

“We will do what we can to keep all of those sports that would’ve been on the program in our family, and we’re looking at constitutional changes to do that.

“We’re looking at what we might be able to do from a funding support perspective as well … certainly we want to keep everyone together, because we know they may come back onto the program in 2030.

“We know for (2030) it will come down to who gets the opportunity to host, and what in particular they would like to add to the program.

“10 (sports) is about the minimum, and it was necessary in this case because of the time we have.”

Phillips called for the sports which survived the cut, including netball, track cycling and bowls, to “vote with their feet” by restoring the axed sports as CGA members later this year.

“We’ll put it to our membership in December, it’s up to them to vote them in. We’re hopeful they will,” he said.

Squash was also cut from the Commonwealth Games despite being added to the Olympic program for the LA Games in 2028. Picture: Robert Cianflone / Getty Images

“We know that the sports on the program understand the disappointment their colleagues have, and we hope that they’ll vote with their feet and bring their fellow member sports back onto the full membership roster for us.

“All of those sports are eligible to be on the program … certainly any of them could return, we’re just not sure what that might look like in 2030 or even 2034.”

Phillips said Australia expected to send a team of 260 to 280 athletes to the Games.

The reduced program angered sports administrators in India, where the 2010 Games was hosted in Delhi.

Six of the 12 disciplines in which Indian athletes won medals at the 2022 Birmingham Games were scrapped, with the culling of hockey, badminton, and cricket threatening to halve the size of the Indian team.

Badminton Association of India secretary Sanjay Mishra said in a statement that the decisions were a “huge setback” for Indian sport.

“It’s shocking and a huge setback for Indian sports, with nearly 40 medals at risk from the dropped events. This isn’t just a loss for sports and sportspersons; it feels like a conspiracy to sideline India’s rising sporting potential in the region,” he said.

Originally published as Axed Glasgow Commonwealth Games sports can ‘absolutely’ return