[1] The associations are subject to the rules of, and report to, the Commonwealth Games Federation.
[2] As well as promoting sports nationally, an association can also place a bid for the Commonwealth Games for a potential host city.
[3][4] While some nations have a stand-alone association dealing exclusively with the Commonwealth Games (particularly the Home Nations, the Crown Dependencies and most[5] of the British Overseas Territories, all of whom compete at the Olympics as one Great Britain team but compete as separate teams at the Commonwealth Games), in many of the Commonwealth nations, the local National Olympic Committee performs the function of Commonwealth Games Association for that nation.
In a few nations, such as Eswatini and Malawi, the local organisation carries both names in its normal title.
As stated in the CGF Constitution, the current 74 member associations are grouped into the following regions:[6] Gabon and Togo are expected to make their debuts at the 2026 Commonwealth Games bringing the member associations to 74.