ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — The Pakistan Sports Board will meet every national sports federation over five days from Monday to finalise preparations for the 14th South Asian Games, which Pakistan is due to host in April for the first time in 22 years.
The Games are scheduled for April 3 to 11 in Islamabad, Lahore, and Peshawar, with about 6,000 athletes and officials expected to take part in 28 sports, officials say.
The coordination meetings will run from November 16 to 20 at the Games Secretariat in Islamabad, starting at 1pm each day and chaired by the board’s director of games and events, according to a notification issued on Friday. It replaces a directive issued a day earlier.
Archery, athletics, boxing, rowing, and tennis open the schedule on Monday. Football, kabaddi, squash, triathlon, and basketball follow on Tuesday, and snooker, hockey, judo, taekwondo, golf, and shooting on Wednesday. The remaining federations, from badminton and cricket to swimming and wrestling, are due on Thursday and Friday.
What the federations must bring
The board has made attendance by each federation’s president and secretary general mandatory, and the secretary general must attend if the president cannot.
Federations have been told to bring full lists of the equipment they need, with estimated costs, the country of manufacture, and international certification. They must also set out the foreign coaches they want and the salaries proposed, estimates of athletes and officials from each country, and plans for national training camps and international competitions before the Games.
A long wait
Pakistan last hosted the Games in 2004, and before that in 1989, both times at the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad. It was awarded the 14th edition at the 2019 Games in Nepal, but the event was repeatedly delayed. The South Asian Olympic Council confirmed the dates at a meeting in Islamabad in August.
Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem, who went on to win Olympic gold in Paris in 2024, won his event at those Kathmandu Games.
The preparations begin in a strong week for Pakistani sport. The national football team reached its first SAFF Championship final on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Bangladesh in Dhaka.
Two clashes to manage
Organisers face two overlaps. The Pakistan Super League is expected to be under way at about the same time, and the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Riyadh, recently moved from December to March 28 to April 8, run into the opening days. Athletes from the South Asian countries are also expected to compete in Riyadh.
“We will also see how we can manage our event during the PSL,” a Pakistan Olympic Association official said, adding that the Games would still open on April 3.
