Following the huge success of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, UK Sport unveiled their Gold Event Series which looks to bring more major sporting events to Britain over the next decade.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games is now starting to emerge as a real option for London, with the majority of facilities in place following the Olympics and Paralympics, while the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), whose headquarters are based in the capital, have indicated they would very much welcome a bid from the city.

"I think any international major event we can attract to the UK is a great thing," Campbell told insidethegames.

"We must remember that we have all still got Glasgow 2014 to look forward to which I think is incredibly exciting, particularly in the way that it will be building off London 2012.

"I know that everyone in Scotland will make that a huge success.

"But if there is an opportunity to bring the Commonwealth Games back to the UK in 2022, that can only be a good thing.

"So my immediate reaction is that I'm fully behind it.

"But I know that he, along with everyone at UK Sport, is keen to bring as many major sporting events as possible to these shores and the Commonwealth Games is obviously one of the biggest events out there."


The backing of Campbell, who is also Youth Sport Trust chair, comes after Sports Minister Hugh Robertson and Sport England chief executive Jennie Price both told insidethegames they would be behind any bid for the event.

After Glasgow 2014, Gold Coast in Australia will host the 2018 edition of the Commonwealth Games.

England last staged the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002 in one of the most successful editions of the event in history.

Birmingham and Sheffield have both expressed an interest in bidding for the 2022 Commonwealth Games but should London move for the event, it is unlikely that any other bid would be able to match them in terms of technical infrastructure, although the international bidding process will not officially begin until 2014.

Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore and Sri Lanka are other countries currently considering bids, but it remains to be seen if they will put forward formal proposals to the CGF when the process opens.

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