Doha and Riyadh in running to be 2030 Asian Games hosts

Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, President of the Olympic Council of Asia, has named Wei Jizhong, Chairman of the Evaluation Committee for finalising the host for the 2030 Asian Games.

An Honorary Life Vice President of the OCA, the 83-year-old Wei Jizhong will lead a nine-member delegation and visit the two cities bidding to host the 2030 Asian Games: Doha in Qatar and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

The OCA has already requested the two cities to submit their bid files by October 4 this year so that the members on the committee can commence their work at the earliest.

The 19th Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou, China from September 10-25, 2022, while the 20th Asian Games will take place in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan from September 19 to October 4, 2026.

Sheikh Ahmad was pleased with the progress made by the sports movement, particularly in Asia. “I am extremely satisfied with the composition of the OCA Evaluation Committee for this very important task. We have many sports leaders throughout Asia with a lot of experience from the Asian Games and Olympic Games and I am sure the members of this OCA Evaluation Committee will cover every aspect of



planning, preparation, management and operations of the Asian Games,” he said.

“The Asian Games has grown into the biggest multi-sport event in the world and we are proud of this success,” he added.

The 2018 edition of the Asian Games held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia witnessed 11,300 athletes representing 45 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and taking part in 465 events from 40 sports.

As per the bidding process timeline for the 2030 Asian Games, only Doha and Riyadh submitted their bids before the April 22 deadline. The election of the host city will be done during the OCA General Assembly to be held during the 2020 Asian Beach Games scheduled to be held in Sanya, China from April 2-10, 2021.

OCA Evaluation Committee: Wei Jizhong (Chairman); Ryu Seung Min (Chair, OCA Entourage Committee); Mikaela Cojuangco (Member Athletes Committee); Jean Hammam (President, NOC of Lebanon); Prof. Mohammad Yunus Popalzay (SG, NOC of Afghanistan); Azat Muradov (SG, NOC of Turkmenistan); Battushig Batbold (First Vice President NOC Mongolia); Hussain Al Musallam, Director General, OCA); Two representatives from the OCA Headquarters, Kuwait).