South Asian Games Steering Committee meeting on Jan 31

ISLAMABAD: The 14th South Asian Games Steering Committee meeting has been convened on January 31 to discuss the dates and issues confronting the release of the required amount to develop infrastructure to host the event in a befitting manner.

The meeting that will be chaired by caretaker Minister for Planning Muhammad Sami Saeed will consider the release of the pending amount necessary to develop or upgrade the sports infrastructure earmarked for hosting different sports in the mega event.

The News has learned that Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) officials have also been invited to attend the meeting though initially during Fahmida Mirza’s tenure as the IPC Minister, the main stakeholders, POA had been left out of the Committee.

The POA later even refused to become part of the Organising Committee unless and until both Committees were given a fresh look.

“We are trying to accommodate POA in the Steering Committee. That was one of reasons why we have invited the POA President and Secretary to attend the January 31 meeting,” one of the IPC Ministry officials when contacted said. The Steering Committee which deals more to finalise a roadmap for the Organising Committee to work on will also look into the requirements necessary to host the 14th edition of the Games in a befitting manner.

The 14th edition of the South Asian Games was originally scheduled for 2021 but was postponed initially due to COVID-19. Later, it was again postponed for March 2024.

The POA is already under considerable pressure from all South Asian member countries to either hold the Games at the earliest or surrender the hosting rights in favour of Sri Lanka where the next edition is scheduled.

It is believed that the Steering Committee meeting on January 31 will also discuss realistic dates to host the Games. It is highly unlikely that Pakistan could even go on to host the 14th edition of the Games this year. If the South Asian member countries agree the 14th edition is expected to be held in 2025 instead. The POA will have to go back to member countries to discuss and finalize the dates once it gets the required support from the government of Pakistan.