Athletics Ireland has withdrawn its bid to host the 2005 Spar European Cross Country Championships, citing a lack of Government funding as the main obstacle in bringing the event to Cork.
The Association had sought a €300,000 grant from Mr John O'Donoghue, Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism to bring the high profile event to Cork Racecourse.
Instead, the €54,000 offered by the Minister fell way short of the required amount to go towards an overall budget of €650,000 needed to host the event.
The Irish bid was at an advanced stage and had received commitments from a host of other investment parties and agencies. However, the success of the bid was always going to be predicated by Government funding according to Athletics Ireland.
Athletics Ireland believed the championships would have attracted athletes from over 30 countries and could have gained mass coverage across Europe by the State's host broadcaster RTE.