Louise Martin Elected Cgf President

Scotland’s Louise Martin has been elected president of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), defeating incumbent Prince Imran, becoming the organisation’s first female leader in its 85 year history.

Martin, who was elected as a board member to Commonwealth Games Scotland in 1995, saw off competition from Prince Imran, who took over four years ago, but courted controversy when he attempted to move the body’s headquarters from London to Kuala Lumpur.

Martin, the chair of SportScotland, had been vice president of Glasgow 2014 and had visited 64 Commonwealth countries last year in the build up to the Games.

Initiatives she promised during her presentation included increased financial support for the 71 countries and territories who are members of the CGF and a new trust to help more countries compete in the Commonwealth Youth Games.

She would pay for this increased financial help partly by recruiting commercial partners as worldwide sponsors of the CGF.

In turn, Martin hopes it will attract more top athletes to take part in the Commonwealth Games.

Martin commented: “I am extremely proud and humbled to be elected as president of the CGF and it is my chance to give something back to the movement that means so much to me.

“As someone with a proven track record of collaboration and delivery, as well as dedication and passion for the movement, I am proud to have been elected by the CGAs who have shown they believe I am the right person to guide the CGF through the next stage of its Commonwealth journey and unlock the immense potential of our unique sporting movement.”

Current CGS chairman Paul Bush added: “Louise has worked tirelessly over many years to support the Commonwealth Games movement from both a Scottish and international perspective, and at the heart of this has always been a commitment to ensuring that everything that is done is in the best interest of the athletes, something which we all witnessed last year in Glasgow.

“Scotland has always played an active role in the CGF and we are delighted that Louise will now have the opportunity to make an even greater impact on the development of the organisation and the Games as it seeks to address a number of key challenges for the future.”