The decision is a boost to the Gold Coast's chances of hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games but could damage Hambantota's campaign.

They are the first Sri Lankan city to bid for the Games while the Gold Coast is seeking to be the fifth Australian city to host the event since they were first held in 1930 and the second in four editions, following Melbourne in 2006.

Fennell told insidethegames: "Rotation is a nice feature and it would be nice to be able to say that the Commonwealth Games is going to all parts of the world.

"But in today’s world, a world of high performance sport, rotation is not nearly as important as to the quality of competition you put on.

"I am talking about quality for the sake of the athlete, for the sake of the media for the sake of the sponsors and so on.

"That is vital and it will always be first and foremost in our thinking."

But Fennell did have some words of encouragement for Hambantota and admitted that the CGF is encouraged that Sri Lanka, currently recovering from a 26-year Civil War, is bidding to host the event.

They were surprise bidders when the CGF had been expecting Nigerian capital Abuja to bid for the second consecutive time - having lost out the opportunity to host 2014 to Glasgow.

Africa has never hosted the Commonwealth Games or Olympics but Fennell is happy that Sri Lanka is seeking to become only the third Asian city to stage the event following Kuala Lumpur and New Delhi.

He said: "I’m delighted to see Sri Lanka’s interest due to the very fact that the bigger countries have usually hosted the Commonwealth Games in the past.

"It can be difficult to get some of the smaller countries to make a bid due to some of the costs involved.

"We had Kuala Lumpur in 1998 but since then, we have come back to the bigger countries.

"Sri Lanka would certainly fit with that interest of a smaller nation hosting the Games.

"However, we must insist that certain standards are met because we are intent on maintaining a very high standard for the Commonwealth Games.

"For Sri Lanka to host the Games, they will have to demonstrate how they can meet those standards better from their competition from the Gold Coast."

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