OCA Executive Board Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The Olympic Council of Asia Executive Board meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Monday began with a minute’s silence for victims of the football tragedy in Indonesia.

The Acting President of the OCA, Raja Randhir Singh, asked the Executive Board members to stand in silence as a mark of respect for those who lost their lives during a stampede at a football stadium in Malang on Saturday.

Indonesia is one of the most prominent National Olympic Committees within the OCA. Jakarta and Palembang staged a successful 18^th Asian Games in 2018 and Indonesia is a major power within the South East Asia region which also includes Cambodia.

“This was a terrible tragedy and we send our condolences for those who lost their lives on the football field,” said Raja Randhir. “We would like to observe a minute’s silence to show our respects.”

The agenda of the 78^th OCA Executive Board meeting included progress reports on the 19^th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China from 23 September to 8 October 2023, the 6^th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Thailand in November 2023 and the 20^th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan in 2026.

The OCA also welcomed a delegation from the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee ahead of the award of the 2029 Asian Winter Games to Trojena at the OCA General Assembly on Tuesday.

The OCA Director General, Husain Al-Musallam, said: “It is a real honour and a proud moment for Asia to have the Asian Winter Games in the Middle East for not only the first time in Asia but also the world. It shows Asia is contributing to the development of all sports.”

Some of the key points discussed during the Executive Board meeting were:

• The OCA and International Olympic Academy will sign a Memorandum of Understanding at the OCA General Assembly on Tuesday, October 4 on the initiative of the OCA Education Committee Chair, HRH Prince Fahad bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The OCA will set up an education regional office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to coordinate education projects around the continent.
• The OCA will establish an investment and marketing sub-office in Singapore.
• Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will host the OCA/IOC regional forum for National Olympic Committees from 3-7 December 2022. The five zones of the OCA will be divided into two groups, with West, Central and South Asia in one forum and South East and East Asia in the other group. Each forum will last two days.
• Baseball 5 has been added to the sports programme of the 6^th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Bangkok and Chonburi, Thailand in November 2023, increasing the number of sports to 34.
• On a request from the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games Organising Committee, the equestrian competition will be held at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games equestrian venue which already has quarantine procedures in place.
• The OCA Director General, Husain Al-Musallam, said the maximum number of Executive Board members from any National Olympic Committee would be one. For any future host city of the Asian Games there will be one Vice President per Games.
• The OCA Gender Equity Committee reported that 110 participants from 42 National Olympic Committees would take part in the Gender Equity Seminar in Bahrain from 30-31 October.
• The Executive Board took the decision that the OCA requests the authority in Afghanistan to allow women to have access to sport.
• The OCA is discussing the future strategy of the Asian Games. All articles related to the Asian Games in the OCA Constitution will be moved to by-laws to allow more flexibility in adjusting the games.
• The Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee provided a new timeline for the postponed 19^th Asian Games.
• The OCA has appointed marketing director Michael Holland to lead a new Asian Games marketing strategy.
• The OCA EB approved the OCA Ethics Commission decision related to International Bowling Federation President Sheikh Talal Mohammed Al Sabah for alleged reports of wrong-doing in his financial activities so he cannot attend any Asian Games or OCA events.