Australia, Canada and Malaysia will rival the UK as potential hosts for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

David Grevemberg CBE, chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), said he was “delighted with the level of initial interest” in hosting the Games after Durban pulled out in March.

A review team will now work with each interested nation to evaluate their proposals.

The review period will involve a “rigorous on-the-ground” feasibility assessment, with a focus on hosting capacity and capability, as well as resourcing and legacy ambitions.

A recommendation will be made to the CGF Executive Board before a final decision is made in the autumn.

“This is the first step in a collaborative process that will see a clear and detailed set of criteria applied to any Games hosting ambitions,” added Grevemberg.

“The process has been streamed to be as agile as possible given the time available and to minimise costs for potential hosts, while maintaining the transformative ambitions of the Commonwealth Sports Movement.”

Last month, culture secretary Karen Bradley fired the starting gun on the UK’s expected bid, asking interested host cities to put together a plan with a focus on the economic impacts of hosting the Games.

Liverpool and Birmingham have already thrown their hats into the ring, while Manchester City Council has stated that while the city would not launch an individual bid, it would be happy to co-host with another British city.

Manchester staged the Games in 2002 and Glasgow was the latest host of the event in 2014.

If an Australian bid was to be successful, it would mean that the nation would host back-to-back Commonwealth Games, with Gold Coast the location for 2018.

Canada has hosted the Games four times previously, while Malaysia successfully bid for and staged the 1998 edition.