President presents reimagined Games concept to Government leaders and highlights power and potential of Commonwealth Sport Movement at CHOGM

President Chris Jenkins has outlined the crucial role the entire Commonwealth Sport Movement – including a reset and redefined Commonwealth Games – can play in advancing social and human development outcomes and advocated new ways of working between sports and government to maximise Commonwealth Sport’s relevance and value.

Following the exciting news that the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) confirmed Glasgow will host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, Jenkins presented his organisation’s vision at the Commonwealth Sport Breakfast as part of this week’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, co-hosted by the Government of Samoa and the Commonwealth Secretariat.

A key part of the meeting was the launch of a new concept, inspired by Samoan culture and their traditional meeting place of “fale”, for “common wealth” through sport – where the Games and wider sport movement are repositioned to deliver sport, cultural, social, diplomatic and economic wealth for all. The Fale embodies openness, unity, tradition, and the democratic spirit that characterises the Samoan way of life and provided inspiration for open discussion and collaboration during the Sport Breakfast.

The President said, “As we look forward to our 100th Anniversary in 2030, the Commonwealth Sport Movement is uniquely positioned to address some of the most urgent challenges we face today. New research shows a Social Return of Investment from sport of 4.4 times. Sport deserves a higher status within governments, and, by intentionally leveraging its power, sport can shift mindsets and enhance national development priorities.

“The Commonwealth Games is the largest and most positive manifestation of the Commonwealth. Off the field of play, we create a safe space to have difficult discussions – whether that is our work on athlete advocacy, indigenous rights, or historical injustice.

”We are focused on increasing the relevance of the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Sport to the youth of the Commonwealth, enhancing our resilience. We have designed a new model featuring five pillars to put sport and the Games back at the heart of the Commonwealth. Our Movement generates sporting, cultural, diplomatic, economic and social benefits, and, collectively, these five pillars have the power to foster a more prosperous, inclusive, and united Commonwealth. We want to widen the opportunities to host, creating a more sustainable model – with more Commonwealth countries able to benefit.

“Through our Games, Youth Games, development work and policy initiatives, there is more we can be doing together to unite the Commonwealth through sport. Our request to governments at CHOGM this week is to maximise the impact of sport and the central role our Movement and the Commonwealth Games play within the Commonwealth.”

The Commonwealth Secretariat Secretary-General, Baroness Scotland, and the Prime Minister of Samoa, Hon Fiame Naomi Mataafa, lent their strong support to the Commonwealth Sport vision.

“I fully endorse the new vision for the Commonwealth Games and call on you to do the same as well. This vision of sport for development and peace matters because it directly addresses some of today’s greatest challenges: conflict, crime, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and mental health crises,” said Baroness Scotland. “Sport can help heal communities and provide hope, as we saw with the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinbago.

“As we look ahead to the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Scotland, I believe sport can continue to deliver for a world in need. Now is the time to act. I call on all of us to renew our commitment to innovation, investment, inclusion, and integrity in sport. Together, we can ensure sport becomes a pillar of a sustainable, peaceful world for future generations. ”

Hon Fiame Naomi Mataafa, Prime Minister of Samoa said, “Celebrating our diversity, especially our cultures, is key and sports can help us achieve this. The Commonwealth Games have always been an important gathering for our Samoan athletes, and we look forward to the implementation of the reset and reimagining of the Commonwealth Games.

“… Through the Commonwealth Games and Youth Games, sport can be a vehicle for achieving Sustainable Development Goals. The Commonwealth has long championed sport for development and peace, thus, going forward we must work harder to optimise the contribution sport can make to development outcomes.”

With the news still fresh that Glasgow had been confirmed by the CGF as the host city of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, Lord Collins from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spoke on behalf of the UK Government in support of the event and Scottish Sports Minister Maree Todd featured in a video promoting Glasgow 2026.

Commonwealth Governments Heads, Ministers and Senior Officials attended from 22 countries including Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Botswana, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tanzania, the United Kingdom and Zambia, alongside Commonwealth Special Envoys, Accredited Organisations and members from the Commonwealth Youth Council.

Samoan athletes attending the breakfast also included Brandon Schuster (swimming) who was flagbearer for the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa and Ele Opeloge (weightlifting) silver medallist from the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games who contributed to the dialogue with inspiring messages of how sport had positively impacted their lives.

Jenkins is continuing his representation of the Commonwealth Sport Movement throughout CHOGM, attending several events and appearing on number of panels including the Foreign Ministers Roundtable, the Commonwealth Youth Forum, and Side Events on Health and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and Indigenous Wealth.

During his visit to Samoa, the President has also met the Samoan Commonwealth Games Association President Pauga Talalelei Pauga, Secretary General Sifuiva Maureen Epati-Tuimalealiifano, CEO Tuala Mathew M. Vaea, and Board members.