The European Judo Union (EJU) controversially stripped Glasgow of the event, which was previously scheduled to take place there in April, following a row over a sponsorship agreement between the British Judo Association (BJA) and the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC).

European judo's governing body claimed the deal "did not meet the EJU values", and Baku was announced as the new host last week in what represents a major coup for the inaugural European Games.

Baku currently has reached a number of agreements with television networks across the globe, spanning as far as Asia and South America, but the absence of a deal so far in Britain is a major problem for officials. 

Discussions have taken place with BT Sport but no deal has been announced so far. 

"I think that the introduction of the European Judo Championships will accelerate one or two discussions about the TV coverage in the coming weeks," England said here today.

"I think for those countries that are used to a Continental Games they can see the benefit and the appetite for it."

Olympic champion Jade Jones is one of the British athletes hoping to earn qualification for Rio 2016 by winning gold at the inaugural European Games ©Getty Images



The Games in the Azerbaijani capital have enjoyed a surge in popularity as of late as more countries continue to get involved in the event.

The competition will attract roughly 6,000 athletes competing across 20 sports, and England feels the European Games can be an excellent platform ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

"It is the piece in the continental jigsaw that has been missing and the International Olympic Committee and European Olympic Committees (EOC)have worked hard to make sure that gap has been plugged," he said.

"We see this as a real opportunity to get athletes over the line for direct qualification for Rio and that's our main priority.

"We've embraced it because it is a great opportunity for us to work with athletes like Jade Jones ahead of Rio 2016.

"We're expecting top athletes and some top competition, particularly in those sports where there are ranking points available and I think it will be a great coup for the city and for the EOC.

England, who is set to lead a team of roughly 160 athletes for the Games, also hopes it can be the start of a bright future for the event on the continent.

"Always going to be to some degree an experiment but it's an experiment that is coming off pretty well so far," he added.

"The European Games have the potential to enjoy the same precision and accuracy that the London Games was put on, and they're taking great strides to ensure future editions will live on."

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