BY ABONYI IKECHUKWU EMMANUEL
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has launched a new strategic plan that aims to “propel the movement to new heights” over the next decade.
The plan, entitled “Commonwealth United”, sets out the CGF’s “bold” new vision from this year through to 2034 as it bids to empower athletes and young people and increase equality in sport and society across the Commonwealth.
It also pledges to assess the feasibility of hosting in new regions and consider multi-country Games opportunities as well as outlining its ambition to create “attractive” and “relevant” sport programmes.
Katie SadieIr, chief executive of the CGF, told insidethegames that new plan aims to ensure Commonwealth sport is “not lost” in the three years between staging the quadrennial Games.
“We want to turn the Commonwealth Movement into something that doesn’t just pop up every four years and make Commonwealth sport matter,” said SadleIr.
“When you look at our membership, a good three quarters of them are also National Olympic Committees, so we need to make sure that we are not lost in what we do in three years and then come back to life.
“This is something that we want to explore with a lot more connection with our members.
“I think it would be fair to say that the Games have a huge profile.
“When you looked at what happened in Birmingham, it blew all our expectations out of the park in terms of the profile that it got, with 134 countries watching the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
“But a lot of people don’t know about the other things that we do because we haven’t really had significant resources in our communications and marketing teams to tell that story.”
The plan sets the CGF with the goal of becoming “one of the best governed and well-managed sports federations in the world” that will be “commercially sustainable, underpinned by robust financial management with adequate reserves”.
“As we look forward to our centenary in 2030, so much has been delivered and achieved,” said CGF President Dame Louise Martin.
“From the spectacular Birmingham 2022 and our vibrant Youth Games to initiatives like the GAPS [Gather, Adjust, Prepare, Sustain] programme, which provides inclusive pathways to participation for emerging athletes and coaches with a disability.
“Building on these strong foundations, our new ‘Commonwealth United’ strategic plan 2023-2034, provides a clear framework to propel the Movement to new heights over the next decade.”
The CGF’s new vision is called “our Commonwealth, united through sport” that is underpinned by six strategic goals.
Among those include delivering an “inclusive, impactful and sustainable” Commonwealth Games, create “distinctive, attractive, relevant” sports programmes, “lead, support and develop thriving Commonwealth Games Associations (CGA)” and “empower our athletes to be champions on and off the field”.
The organisation is also bidding to “engage more fans across the Commonwealth including diverse, young fans” and “advocate for and support values and causes we believe in”.
“The CGF’s ‘Commonwealth United’ strategic plan 2023-2034, outlines our ambition to deliver inspirational and impactful Games, pushing boundaries to ensure there are opportunities to host, across the Commonwealth, in a variety of formats,” added Sadleir.
“The CGF will also work closely with International Federations to create attractive, relevant and dynamic sports programmes, adding new sports and events to established ones.
“Our new vision, ‘Our Commonwealth, united through sport’, is a powerful, clear and succinct, directional statement about what we are seeking to achieve.
“We remain absolutely committed to using sport as a mechanism to connect communities across the Commonwealth, through our programmes, by building the capabilities of our members and by delivering exceptional Games that unite and inspire people and allow athletes to shine.
“Our values – ‘Humanity’, ‘Equality’ and ‘Destin’’ – remain central, as we continue to focus on advocacy and legacy, strengthening and positioning Commonwealth Sport as a progressive leader in sport and social change.”
According to the CGF, 400 athletes were surveyed during Birmingham 2022 as part of the consultation process that also included input from 40 CGAs, 20 International Federations and more than 2,000 fans across the Commonwealth to form the strategy.
The new 10-year plan follows the organisation’s previous strategy, entitled “Transformation 2022”, launched in 2015.
It comes fewer than two months before Trinidad and Tobago is poised to stage the Commonwealth Youth Games from August 4 to 11.
Victoria in Australia is set to hold the Commonwealth Games in 2026 but no host has yet to be confirmed for the 2030 edition.
