Asian Games: Doha to host 2030 edition, Riyadh gets 2034
Dec 16, 2020
Muscat [Oman], December 16 : Doha, capital of Qatar, will stage the 2030 Asian Games while the 2034 edition will be hosted by Riyadh, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced on Wednesday.
Doha beat Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in a vote of 45 National Olympic Committees at the 39th OCA General Assembly held in Muscat, Oman and online on Wednesday.
OCA president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said the OCA's return to Muscat brought back happy memories of the Asian Beach Games, which was hosted by Oman in 2010, and described it as a "beautiful" city.
He thanked Oman for the full support from the highest level of the Sultanate to the citizens for the OCA and the hosting of the General Assembly.
"Thank you very much to be here and for my colleagues on the screen who are attending. We have a lot of items to talk about," said Sheikh Ahmad in an official statement.
Sheikh Ahmad said the OCA had "broken the ice" and brought a new example in the Olympic movement to conduct the General Assembly by hosting the meeting in the hall and through technology. He thanked everyone for their unity and cooperation and understanding.
Qatar is also going to host an Arab Cup tournament, featuring 22 teams in December 2021.
FIFA in November had said Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen would compete in the showpiece event.
Qatar is set to host the FIFA World Cup 2022 and the Arab Cup may act as a dress rehearsal for the marquee event.
