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Dubai has pulled out as host of the World Swimming Championships in 2013.

Dr Julio C Maglione, president of the sport’s governing body FINA, said Dubai would still host the short course (25m) World Swimming Championships in December.

But following talks with Mattar Al Tayer, deputy chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, FINA announced that Dubai would not now stage the 2013 event having won the right to host the championships last year.

FINA expressed its appreciation for "the tremendous amount of work" completed by the Dubai 2010 organising committee and the progress made in the construction of the Dubai Sports Complex, adding that the 2010 event in the emirate would be "a great success".

FINA said in a statement: "In a mutual agreement, FINA and the Dubai authorities decided that Dubai would not go forward with the organisation of these championships [in 2013]."

The statement added that Dubai "has opted to concentrate on developing grassroots interest in swimming rather than go forward with another championships for elite athletes in three years".

Al Tayer said: “Our vision from the start was that hosting the 2010 World Championships would leave a legacy that would benefit residents in Dubai and throughout the UAE. Our goal after the championships is to encourage wider use of our new aquatic complex by the people who live here.

“We believe that, at this stage, it is of paramount importance to further improve the impact of the aquatic disciplines in this Middle East region before staging a FINA World Championships.”

In July 2009, it was announced that Dubai had won the right to host the 2013 championships, beating Moscow and Hamburg.