Commonwealth Games 2022: Birmingham made to wait as three cities offer 'updates'

Weightlifting would be held at Birmingham's Symphony Hall if its bid is successful

Birmingham may need to wait until next year to find out if it will host the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) said on Wednesday they are "confident" a city will be chosen in the next four weeks but they "will remain flexible".

Birmingham was the only interested city before the 30 September deadline but was deemed "not fully compliant".

Last week, CGF said it had "updates" from Australia, Canada and Malaysia - but did not confirm any official bids.

And the body said on Wednesday they need "further clarification on a range of issues" before choosing a host city.

The bidding process has been beset with problems, with the South African city of Durban originally awarded the Games in 2015 before being stripped of the event in March because it did not meet the CGF criteria.

After Birmingham's subsequent bid did not meet criteria, the CGF extended the deadline for bids to 30 November, and said a further meeting would be held on 6 December.

Kuala Lumpur and Victoria are thought to be the cities involved from Malaysia and Canada respectively.

Ian Ward, Birmingham city council leader and chair of Birmingham 2022's bid team, said they "are continuing to have productive discussions" with the CGF.

"It's a hugely significant decision and we welcome the robustness of the process," he said. "We look forward to a decision from the CGF in the near future."