The 2024

South Asian Games The South Asian Games (SAG or SA Games), formerly known as the South Asian Federation Games (SAFG or SAF Games), is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among the athletes from South Asia. The governing body of these games is South Asia Olympic ...

, officially the XIV South Asian Games, will be a major

multi-sport A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...

event which will be held in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

,and will have

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

, the capital of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

province as main host city. The cities of

Faisalabad Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur (Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pakis ...

, Gujranwala,

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

and

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

will give support to Lahore hosting some sports. The Games were scheduled to be held in March 2023. but later postponed to March 2024 by SAOC members, at the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This will mark the first time that Pakistan has hosted the

since 2004, and the first time that Pakistan has hosted the event outside of

Host selection

In 2019, the Sri Lankan

Ministry of Sports A Ministry of Sports or Ministry of Youth and Sports is a kind of government ministry found in certain countries with responsibility for the regulation of sports, particularly those participated in by young people. The Ministry of Youth and Sp ...

announced that Sri Lanka had bid in a partnership with the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

. However,

was announced as host by the South Asian Olympic Council in December 2019. On 10 December, POA President Arif Hassan received the games flag.

Development and preparation

Venues and infrastructure

It was reported that the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

designated around Rs 2 billion for infrastructure. In July 2020, it was announced that the federal government had set forth more than Rs3.5 billion for the South Asian Games. The

Pakistan Olympic Association Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) or National Olympic Committee of Pakistan (NOC) ( ur, پاکستان اولمپک ایسوسی ایشن, acronym: POA) is the national olympic organization in Pakistan. It was established in 1948 to oversee the ...

(POA) wants to base these Games in Lahore while holding selected sports in other cities which are hubs within the country for each one. Gujranwala is being considered for

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...

and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

competitions while Sialkot and

Narowal Narowal ( ur, ) is a city located on the western bank of river Ravi in the northeast of the province Punjab, Pakistan. The city is the capital of district Narowal, and a part of the Gujranwala division. It is the 94th largest city of Pakistan ...

for

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. Faisalabad is under consideration for handball while along with it,

Gojra Gojra (Punjabi and ur, ), the administrative capital of Gojra Tehsil, is the city of Toba Tek Singh District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Gojra is from Faisalabad, from Lahore and north of Toba Tek Singh. Founded in 1896 during the ...

is under consideration for

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

Kasur Kasur (Urdu and pa, ; also romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The city serves as the headquarters of Kasur District. Kasu ...

may also be one of the venues. It was also reported that the POA intends to organise the football competition in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, Sindh. In May 2020,

Mardan Mardān (Pashto and ; Urdu ; Pashto: ) is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar). It is a fast-growing ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

, expressed hosting events at a gymnasium, despite not being a host city.

Syed Aqil Shah Syed Aqil Shah (born 13 February 1950), is a Pakistani politician, president of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Olympic Association, and the former president of Pakistan Wrestling Federation, provincial minister for sports, tourism and culture who rep ...

, President of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Olympic Association requested that the POA should include

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

as one of the host cities for the Games. “We will place athletes in these sports in these cities which are about two hours away by road from Lahore,” Hasan, Vice President of

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

Council of Asia added. Pakistan has hosted the South Asian Games twice before – in 2004 and

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, both times in

. “We are looking forward to hosting the South Asian Games again. It is our turn and we hope that all countries including India will turn up. We will ensure that security is high and we will be inviting India. I’m very confident that India will accept our invitation". On 11 January 2021,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

gave a go-ahead signal to the

(POA) and the Federal Sports Ministry to host the Games. On 15 January 2021, POA President Syed Arif Hasan further said that the venues have almost been finalised and in the next meeting with the federal sports minister on 18 January in

, several other key decisions would be taken with respect to holding the Games. On 12 July 2021, it was confirmed that certain sports will be held in other cities including Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Islamabad and Sialkot. On 11 February 2022, it was announced that the government wanted the opening ceremony and closing ceremonies in Islamabad and Lahore, respectively, and for football competitions to be held in Lahore. On 13 February 2022, the government announced plans to hold the event by March 2023 in Lahore, Faisalabad and Islamabad.

The Games

Participating nations

Seven countries are expected to compete.

Sports

* * * * * * * * * ** Mountain biking (4) **

Road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

(4) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **

Duathlon Duathlon is an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg in a format similar to triathlons. The International Triathlon Union governs the sport internationally. Distance and format ...

(2) **

Triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

(3) *

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

** ** * * *

References

{{South Asian Games South Asian Games International sports competitions hosted by Pakistan Multi-sport events in Pakistan 2024 in Asian sport Sport in Punjab, Pakistan Sport in Lahore