Commonwealth Games Federation finds 170 queries with Birmingham's 2022 bid
BIRMINGHAM'S bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games remains the only option despite federation bosses raising 170 'detailed queries' about its application.
The city is still the only candidate in the running to host the global games, with the extended deadline set to close at the end of the month.
It comes as Commonwealth Games England chairman Ian Metcalfe revealed a string of issues was flagged up after the bid was submitted.
But he claimed the bid was in 'good shape' after fine details were resolved and said he was confident the games would come to the city in five years' time.
Mr Metcalfe added: "We recognised that with our bid we had done in just under six months what normally takes two years to do.
"There were around 170 detailed queries about aspects of the bid, some were important around the athletes' village, some were relatively minor, I think the federation accepts that themselves.
"There are a different range of issues, things that need to be resolved, but there is a productive conversation between a group of partners looking to arrive at a situation where we can give the federation certainty that, if given the games, we can host an inspiring event.
"We're very excited about the possibility, but ultimately the decision is for the federation.
"We spent two days last week with them but we don't know how strong any other bids are. There are still opportunities for others to come along, but we are quietly confident."
Birmingham became Britain's candidate city for the games after beating Liverpool and winning government backing.
It was the only bid submitted to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) by the original September 30 deadline after interest from other countries dwindled.
But after the city's bid was reviewed at a Sri Lanka meeting, the federation's executive board declared it was not 'fully compliant' and allowed rival cities an extra two months to come forward.
Commonwealth Games England boss Paul Blanchard said the Birmingham bid team was in 'ongoing talks' with the federation about its application.
He added: "[The CGF] wants to explore every avenue and keep its options open. We completely understand that and we are quite comfortable with the situation and still very proud of our bid.
"As far as we know, no other bids have come forward yet but we are not complacent or arrogant about it - the door is still open.
"What we know is that our bid is very thorough, the money is there and we have already done an awful lot of work."
