Qatar ‘ready’ if 2030 Asian Games moved back: official

NAGOYA – Doha Asian Games organisers “are ready” if the continent’s premier sporting event is moved back a year to 2031 in a major shake-up to the calendar, a top official said on Oct 1.

The Games, currently ongoing in Japan, are typically held every four years and on even years.

Doha is the next host and according to the current cycle, the Qatari capital would stage the Games in 2030.

However, reports in April said that the executive board of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) had approved the idea of reshaping the calendar so that future Games double up as qualifying and preparation for the Olympics.

That would mean the Doha Games taking place in 2031, months before the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

“We are working closely with the OCA. For us, it’s 2030,” Ahmad Abdulla Al-Buenain, chief executive of the Doha 2030 Asian Games organising committee, told AFP in current host Nagoya.

“But if it needs to be changed either one year earlier or postponed year for some specific reason, we need to make sure as the LOC (local organising committee) that we are ready, that the venues are ready, all the operation plans are going on.”

He said that any change will be “between the OCA and the IOC”, referring to the International Olympic Committee.

“Yes, LOC as a host country needs to be engaged. But again, it’s not a solo decision.

“We need to work closely in the upcoming days to make sure that everyone is satisfied about the date, about the duration, and when it will be, where it will be located and when.”

The Aichi-Nagoya Games have faced accusations of organisational failures, especially with athlete accommodation and transport.

Qatar, which in the past 20 years has staged a growing number of major sports events, culminating in the men’s 2022 football World Cup, already has all the venues in place.

Doha also staged the Asian Games in 2006.

“Qatar is ready. Whenever it comes to Qatar, Qatar is ready,” said Al-Buenain.

One of the major challenges for Japanese organisers has been the ballooning number of participants.

More than 17,000 athletes and officials – more than the Olympics – descended on Aichi-Nagoya.

Some teams said there was a shortage of beds.

Al-Buenain said it was “too early to discuss numbers”.

But he told reporters: “There is no limit up to this point.” AFP