OCA defends Asian Games preparations, blames NOC longlists for shortage

The Olympic Council of Asia on Friday (September 18, 2026) defended the organisation and arrangements at the Asian Games, claiming they needed to be flexible in working with the organisers of host cities.

With India expressing interest in hosting the 2038 edition, the OCA’s statements made it clear that sustainability and reduced costs would be the focus even beyond Aichi-Nagoya. “Every athlete, every coach, every official has an accommodation. No single accredited person is without one,” Director-General of the OCA Husain Al Musallam declared, contrary views expressed by several delegations notwithstanding.

“Every National Olympic Committee (NOC) sent a longlist for participation, with a total of 26,000 athletes requested. We came to the final shortlist just seven to 10 days ago. A limit of 11,000 is a normal number; 15,000 was the final number because of the longlist from 45 NOCs. But it is something to look for in the future, to reduce the Games’ budget size and make every country, even the smallest one, able to host a big multi-sport event,” he added.

Defending the present edition, Al Musallam said that the host city’s focus and planning needed to be respected. “We have to look at what the actual situation is inside the host city, and what their plan is after the Games. Next edition, yes, there will be an athletes’ village. But we cannot standardise or pressure the organisers to follow a fixed plan. The most important thing is to create the best environment for the athletes,” he said.

“The bids we received from India and five other countries to host the Asian Games show the popularity of the Games, and we thank all the nations who submitted their vision documents. There are another 12 years; the calendar is well established. The OCA Executive Board took the decision to create an evaluation committee to visit all those countries next year and submit an initial report. Based on that, we will go for the shortlist, then go for another visit nine-10 years before 2038 and then finalise,” Al Musallam said.