Birmingham has been chosen ahead of Liverpool as the recommended city for England's bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Having beaten Liverpool to win the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) backing, Birmingham must now convince the government to approve the bid and underwrite the event's costs.

Tracey Crouch, minister for sport and civil society said: "I am grateful to the bid teams from both Birmingham and Liverpool for their hard work in making the case for their respective cities as potential Commonwealth Games hosts.

"Now, after a comprehensive assessment process, the government will look at the final bid proposal from Birmingham and decide if a formal bid will be submitted to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).

"We need to be completely satisfied that the bid offers overall value for money from hosting the Games and that a strong economic and sporting legacy can be delivered from it.

"The UK has fantastic expertise in hosting the biggest events in sport, as recently showcased at the London 2017 World Para Athletics and IAAF World Championships, and if we are to bid and are selected to host the Commonwealth Games in 2022 I have no doubt that Birmingham would host an excellent sporting spectacle."

The event became available in March when the CGF stripped the South African city of Durban of the right to stage the Games because of financial issues.

After making initial applications, the cities were visited twice by an independent assessment panel set up by DCMS panel this summer and at least once by the CGF, with revised bids going in three weeks ago.

Birmingham's bid has been judged to have more certainty, largely because they already have a main venue for the athletics and ceremonies at the Alexander Stadium, whereas Liverpool were proposing to stage the athletics on a temporary track in Everton's new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

This will make the Perry Barr venue, already the home of UK Athletics, the largest, permanent athletics track in the country.