POA Council fears losing SAG hosting rights

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) General Council that met through virtual arrangements has expressed fears that the country might lose the hosting rights of the 14th South Asian Games as no efforts were made to start the preparations.

The POA Council members were unanimous in expressing their concerns over the unnecessary delay by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) to complete the basic requirements necessary for such a big extravaganza.

Pakistan was picked as the host country of the 14th edition of the Games to be held in March 2023. So far neither the Games Steering Committee has convened any meeting nor the Organising Committee has taken even the first step. So much so that even the Games Secretariat has not been established so far. On top of that, ambiguity remains over the venues of the Games.

Around 30 sports disciplines are expected to be contested during the 13-day mega event. Pakistan previously hosted the Games in 1989 and in 2004. On both occasions, the Games secretariat started functioning two years prior to the start of the event. This fall not even a first brick has been laid as no one knows where different sports events of the Games will be organised.

“Pakistan were allotted the Games during 13th edition in Nepal where the South Asian Olympic Committee flag was handed over to POA. The fears are that we may lose the Games hosting rights in wake of no progress at all from the government side. Though the one-sided Steering Committee and Organising Committee has been finalised, we are still waiting for the first meeting. We genuinely fear that we may lose Games hosting rights,” a federation official who was part of the meeting said.

He said that though the Prime Minister Imran Khan has given go ahead to hold majority of the events in most populous cities of Punjab, not a single penny had so far been spent on the upgradation of sports facilities in Lahore, Faisalabad or even in Sialkot. “We just know that over Rs4 billion has been approved for developing sports infrastructure for the Games. We don’t know where the amount is being spent,” the official said.

The federation official said that South Asian countries are keen to know about the progress. “These countries’ Olympic Associations are in constant touch with POA on the updates for the Games. The POA has nothing to share with them. That is a matter of concern. Sri Lanka has already shown interest to host the 14th edition,” the official said.

Meanwhile, the POA Council has also decided to move to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the respective federations on the PSB constitution. The House unanimously endorsed the POA Executive Committee decision to reject all the clauses of the constitution that are in violation of the Olympic Charter. It has been decided to update the IOC and all international federations on the PSB Constitution clauses that violate the Olympic charter, said a POA source. The POA and all respective federations will write a letter to international bodies on these clauses. Since every federation and even POA is bound to update its international body, letters will be written to all in this respect, the source added.