Olympic Council of Asia ponders global sporting calendar shake-up

 

If held in odd years instead of pairs as to fall just one away from the Summer Olympics, the Asian Games would serve as a direct qualification platform or a venue for elite preparation, allowing pros to gauge their form just before the marquee event.

The Olympic Council of Asia addressed the possible calendar modification this week during a gathering in Sanya, seeking to align the continent's flagship event with guidance from the International Olympic Committee, while simultaneously bringing order to an increasingly congested competitive landscape where overcrowding threatens to dilute audiences, sponsorship value, and, at times, athletic performance itself.

Should the idea be approved, the transition would begin with the Doha 2030 Asian Games, which would be deferred to 2031.

The domino effect would affect the Riyadh 2034 Asian Games, which would consequently move to 2035. By contrast, the already scheduled Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games would retain its original slot, from 19 September to 4 October 2026. However, such an adjustment would create an anomalous five-year gap between Nagoya 2026 and Doha 2031, an interruption that would compel federations, national Olympic committees, and athletes alike to recalibrate preparation cycles traditionally structured around four-year rhythms.

In the Chinese resort city, the OCA Executive Board framed the debate in carefully measured institutional tones. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, president of the OCA, emphasised that the organisation continues to evaluate host cities "with a focus on transparency and governance", adding that any alteration to the calendar would be managed under "standards of excellence" befitting the Asian Olympic movement.

It is, in essence, a pre-emptive answer to an uncomfortable question: is this shift driven by political and commercial convenience, or does it genuinely aim to reinforce the competitive model?

From a sporting perspective, the potential advantages are evident, since staging the Asian Games in the year immediately preceding the Olympics would transform them into either a direct qualification pathway or, at the very least, a high-performance proving ground, an arena in which the continent's elite could gauge their readiness under conditions closely mirroring the Olympic stage. In this sense, it would be more than another fixture on the calendar, rather, it could serve as the definitive dress rehearsal, rich in diagnostic value.

From an industry standpoint, the rationale is equally pragmatic. Relocating the Games to odd-numbered years could ease the congestion of even-numbered seasons, already crowded with world championships across multiple disciplines and, every four years, the Olympic Games themselves. Reduced overlap typically translates into sharper media visibility, clearer narratives for sponsors, and, in theory, an enhanced commercial profile for the 'Asiad', which often competes for attention even within its own continent.

Such a shift would also synchronise the Asian Games with other major continental multi-sport events, such as the Pan American Games, the European Games, and the African Games, all of which are staged in the year prior to the Olympics. According to reports from the Philippine Olympic Committee, the move follows a direct recommendation from the IOC, which the OCA is keen to adopt in order to integrate more seamlessly into the wider Olympic ecosystem.

The matter had apparently already been discussed in February: Bambol Tolentino, president of the Philippine Olympic Committee and a participant in that meeting, stated that the IOC had requested the change and that "the Olympic Council of Asia must follow and adopt the IOC's recommendation".

Operationally, Doha appears well positioned. Qatar boasts ready-made infrastructure and has already launched 'Project Legacy', a programme offering technical assistance and equipment to other Asian National Olympic Committees ahead of the Games. Riyadh, for its part, host of the 2034 edition, potentially 2035, holds a dissimilar emblematic heft: it would mark the first time Saudi Arabia stages a multi-sport event of such scale under the OCA's aegis.

This, in turn, intersects with a broader regional context that lends urgency to the quest for calendar stability. Recently, Saudi Arabia opted to indefinitely postpone the NEOM 2029 Asian Winter Games, initially scheduled within the ambitious NEOM project, an indication that even the most expansive ventures may require recalibration.