'Positive' meeting between PM Shehbaz and POA chief Arif over South Asian Games

The meeting between the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Olympic Association’s (POA) newly-elected supremo Arif Saeed held in Islamabad on Friday was “positive”.

A well-connected source told Nukta that it was a good meeting and they deeply discussed the 14th South Asian Games which Pakistan is supposed to host later this year in three centers including Lahore, Islamabad and Faisalabad.

“Yes, it was a positive meeting and hopefully the things will now move on towards the target,” the source said.

The meeting was also attended by the IPC Secretary Nadeem Irshad Kayani and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Director General Yasir Pirzada.

The source said that the federal government will also hold meeting with the Punjab government and foreign office officials to further streamline the things.

“And I hope this year we will be able to hold the South Asian Games inshaAllah,” the source said.

Meanwhile, a PSB source told this correspondent that although he has not attended the meeting but he has learnt that it went well and the things will be materialized.

Allotted to Pakistan in 2019 during the 13th South Asian Games in Nepal Pakistan failed to meet the deadline as inside two years the Games must be organized. However, due to political and economic uncertainty the Games got delayed.

The POA’s delegation also held informal discussion with the South Asian Olympic Committee (SAOC) on the sideline of the Olympic Council of Assia (OCA) moot in India last year and also during the Paris Olympics.

Initially the SAOC wanted to visit Pakistan in October last year but latter it deferred it as a few NOCs, also including Pakistan, were going to hold their respective elections.

And it seems that the SAOC delegation will also visit Pakistan soon to see the facilities and infrastructure for the Games which Pakistan will be going to host for the third time since holding it way back in 1989 and 2004 in Islamabad.

It will be the Punjab government which is more likely to play a key role in the whole exercise. The provinces also have huge budget and it would not be that difficult for Punjab to put a lion share in the whole enterprise.

Lahore will act as Games secretariat.

The venues and disciplines have already been tentatively finalized and it would be interesting to see how the new POA’s president and the country’s major industrialist Arif Saeed will handle the entire affairs during the coming months.

It is the NOC which practically handles the entire conduction of the Games and state backs it financially and extends logistics and other necessary support.

The South Asian Games have been seen getting delayed for the last few years despite the fact that it is a biennial event.

Dhaka hosted the 11th edition in 2010, India organized the 12th edition in 2016 and it was followed by Nepal which hosted the last edition in 2019. And now the 14th edition will likely to be held at the end of this year. National Games have also been planned to be conducted before the South Asian Games which will help in preparation for the major regional event.