OCA says NOC longlists caused athlete surge, defends Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games preparations
The Olympic Council of Asia on Friday (September 18, 2026) defended the organisation and arrangements at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, saying it had to be flexible in working with host-city organisers. With India expressing interest in hosting the 2038 edition, the OCA said sustainability and reduced costs would be a focus beyond Aichi-Nagoya.
Director-General of the OCA Husain Al Musallam addressed criticism from several delegations and insisted accommodation had been provided for accredited participants. “Every athlete, every coach, every official has an accommodation. No single accredited person is without one,” he declared. He said the OCA had to work with the plans of the host city rather than impose a fixed model.
On the issue of entries, Al Musallam gave figures for the event and explained why numbers rose: “Every National Olympic Committee (NOC) sent a longlist for participation, with a total of 26,000 athletes requested. We came to the final shortlist just seven to 10 days ago. A limit of 11,000 is a normal number; 15,000 was the final number because of the longlist from 45 NOCs. But it is something to look for in the future, to reduce the Games’ budget size and make every country, even the smallest one, able to host a big multi-sport event,” he added.
Al Musallam defended the need to respect the host city’s planning and post-Games plans when explaining arrangements for athletes. “We have to look at what the actual situation is inside the host city, and what their plan is after the Games. Next edition, yes, there will be an athletes’ village. But we cannot standardise or pressure the organisers to follow a fixed plan. The most important thing is to create the best environment for the athletes,” he said.
On the bidding process for future editions, Al Musallam said several countries had submitted proposals and outlined the OCA’s evaluation timeline: “The bids we received from India and five other countries to host the Asian Games show the popularity of the Games, and we thank all the nations who submitted their vision documents. There are another 12 years; the calendar is well established. The OCA Executive Board took the decision to create an evaluation committee to visit all those countries next year and submit an initial report. Based on that, we will go for the shortlist, then go for another visit nine-10 years before 2038 and then finalise,” Al Musallam said.
The OCA Executive Board has therefore appointed an evaluation committee that will visit the bidding countries next year and submit an initial report; that report will be used to draw a shortlist, with a further visit planned nine-10 years before 2038 to finalise the host selection.