14th South Asian Games: Punjab’s populous cities to host major events

ISLAMABAD: Populous cities of Punjab will host major events of the 14th South Asian Games that will be held in the near future.

The high-level meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, was held here on Monday to discuss and finalise arrangements for the regional sports extravaganza.‘The News’ has learned from well-placed sources that it was decided in principle to host all major events in the populous cities of Punjab with Lahore being the centre point.

Islamabad hosted the Games in 1989 and 2004. This time, however, the federal capital will only be one of the host cities, possibly staging two to three events. A couple of events could also be staged in Peshawar. But majority of the 27 disciplines (25 to be decided by the South Asian Olympic Committee and two by the hosts) will be staged in Lahore, Sialkot and Faisalabad.

Prime Minister Imran Khan promised all possible support to hold the Games in a befitting manner. Besides Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the meeting was also attended by Inter-Provincial Coordination Minister Dr Fehmida Mirza, Pakistan Olympic Association President Lt General (r) Arif Hasan and Pakistan Sports Board Director General Dr Arshad Mahmood.

It is believed that it has been left to the national Olympic committee to finalise the dates of the Games in consultation with the South Asian Olympic Committee. The meeting also considered the overall expenditure to be incurred on holding the 14th South Asian Games. It is believed that almost 45 percent of the total expenditure will come from awarding media rights and through sponsorships.

‘The News’ has also learned that a steering committee will be formed in the next couple of weeks to kick start preparations for the South Asian Games.