Paul Walters, the head of internationalSPORTgroup Limited, the management company who stage the tournament, said that it would be held between September 8 and 14 as planned.

There had been fears that without a title sponsor the event, one of the most prestigious on the calendar and which started in 1930, which is due to be held at the National Squash Centre, would have to be cancelled.

He said: "The circumstances are not dissimilar to those that we inherited in 2005 when we staged the British Open for the first time and we are confident that with the continued support of our partners that we will again organise a great event this year.

"Whilst a title sponsor is yet to be announced, the British Open – Manchester 2009 has already received significant financial backing, but remains in the marketplace seeking commercial partnerships at all levels."

The Championships is one of the oldest and most established tournaments in the sport.

It is widely considered to be one of the two most prestigious tournaments in the game, alongside the World Open.

Indeed prior to the establishment of the World Open in the 1970s, the British Open was generally considered to be the effective world championship of the sport.

The past winners reads like a who's who of squash and include Jahangir Khan, Jonah Barrington, Geoff Hunt, Heather McKay and Nicol David, the Malaysian who won last year's tournament for the third time infour years.

Australia's David Palmer won the men's event, beating England's James Willstrop in the final.

Walters said: "InternationalSPORTgroup have worked very closely our event partners England Squash & Racketball, Manchester City Council, Head Sport, Imperial Consultants and jewellers Michael Spiers to ensure that together we deliver a world class event worthy of the championships' unrivalled heritage.

"The support and commitment that we have received to date will ensure that the sport’s blue riband event, widely regarded as the ‘Wimbledon of Squash’, will again feature the world’s leading male and female professional players."

Tickets for the British Open can be booked online at www.isportgroup.com/ticketing or by telephone on 0870 220 0735.