Fate of South Asian Games hangs in the balance as Pakistan struggles to host regional spectacle

Hosting the 14th South Asian Games is a major target for the Pakistan’s government which faces economic crisis.

South Asian Olympic Council (SAOC), carrying seven nations as its members, wants a meeting in November in Pakistan to inspect the facilities and discuss other related matters before deciding the fate of the biennial event which last time was held in Nepal in 2019.

Nukta understands that SAOC has already told Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) to hold a meeting for the council in Pakistan in November. The POA has been told by the SAOC that the Pakistan NOC should give it meeting timeline by October 31.

Due to recent protests from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) moot in Islamabad, the communication between the IPC Ministry and POA could not be done.

But now Nukta has learnt, through highly credible sources, that the POA is going to write a letter to the ministry on Tuesday (today) and will share with it that the meeting timeline for SAOC should be decided so that it could be shared by October 31.

This correspondent has learnt that if Pakistan fails to decide a meeting for the SAOC in November then there are chances that this meeting will be held in Nepal which will be a huge embarrassment for Pakistan. If meeting is held elsewhere, it could also mean that Pakistan will not be able to host the Games.

It has also been learnt that the SAOC’s new vice-president, HRH Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck, is also inclined to hold a meeting of the council to discuss why the Games could not be hosted.

The POA have already convinced the SAOC member nations during the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) meeting in New Delhi recently that the South Asian Games could not be held early next year due to the ICC Champions Trophy and it should be delayed until the end of 2025 (September-October). However, SAOC delegation visit to Pakistan is mandatory.

Pakistan have already done their home work as a host nation, having tentatively finalized the venues. Islamabad, Lahore and Faisalabad will host the Games which Pakistan had previously held in 1989 and 2004 at the Pakistan Sports Complex Islamabad. Lahore will act as Games Secretariat.

Initially when Pakistan were handed the hosting rights in 2019, it wanted to host the Games in major cities of Punjab. Sialkot and Gujranwala were also on the radar of the POA keeping in view the utility of these two cities in the field of sports. However, latter it was decided that it would be tough both administratively and economically to stretch the Games to so many cities so Lahore and Islamabad were declared as major centers for the Games with Faisalabad to host only handball.

Initially Rs9 billion budget had been kept for hosting the Games which later was slashed to Rs7 billion. But Nukta understands that if the organizers plan to provide foreign exposure to their athletes, hire foreign coaches and hold long training camps then the budget could swell even more.

Hosting Games in a befitting way is a huge challenge for the government which is passing through severe economic crisis. The federal government understands that it is facing economic crisis but is determined to host the Games at every cost.

Punjab government is more likely to have a major role in conducting the Games and it is highly expected that the federal government will further hold talks with the provincial government on this matter.

The infrastructure is already available both at Lahore and Islamabad. It would need renovation at some level and equipment so that the Games could be conducted in the most appropriate way.

A huge rivalry is seen usually in these Games among various nations. India always has shown supremacy in the event while the real fight for the second and third places will be among Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan will be the other nations which will be part of the spectacle.