Cheltenham hockey star "disappointed" after sport cut from the 2026 Commonwealth games

Cheltenham-born hockey star Flora Peel has expressed her disappointment after the 2026 Commonwealth Games cut her sport.

Glasgow has officially been announced the host of the next games after the Australian state of Victoria had to pull out due to high costs.

The tournament will see a “slimmed-down” version of the event as 7 sports have been cut from the line-up and just 4 venues are being utilised.

Among the sports missing out are triathlon, diving, hockey and rugby sevens.

The Cheltenham born sports star Flora Peel won a gold medal with her team at the Birmingham games in 2022 and says that the exclusion of the sport could have a negative impact on the future of the sport and the games.

“Lots of young girls start playing sports because they see their idols playing – if you lose one huge event where they can go and watch I think it will have a negative impact on those that maybe won’t go and now pick up a hockey stick because they won’t see it,” she said.

After Victoria pulled out of hosting duties, Glasgow have been left with just under two years to plan for the games and with a tight budget and timeframe some sports didn’t manage to make the cut.

Speaking on the decision, Peel said: “the reason we’ve been left out makes complete sense – the worst outcome for everyone would be if Glasgow couldn’t get any games at all.”

Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Ian Reid said it was not easy to decide which sports to include.

He told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "I think everybody recognises that these events need to be more affordable, lighter and we would have loved to have all of our sports and all of our athletes competing but unfortunately it's just not deliverable or affordable for this time frame."

Peel said she has been reassured this doesn’t mean hockey will be cut from all future games and hopes to see it return soon.

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