The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. Talal Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was elected as President of the OCA on 8 July 2023. However, on 30 July 2023, the International Olympic Committee asked Randhir Singh, who was the acting president at the time, to continue as the Acting President of the OCA while the IOC investigated the OCA presidential election of 2023. On 13 October 2023, the IOC ethics committee asked the OCA to annul its 2023 elections due to Talal’s candidacy not fulfilling the eligibility conditions defined by the OCA Constitution and election interference by his brother Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah. The headquarters of the OCA is located at Kuwait City, Kuwait.

History

In 1948, during the 1948 Summer Olympics, Asian National Olympic Committees (NOCs) decided to organize the Asian Games, under the auspices of Asian Games Federation. The following year the Asian Games Federation was organized. Decades later this would be reorganized and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) was established in New Delhi on 16 November 1982. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognized the OCA within the same year. The OCA together with the Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF) announced a new campaign for the upcoming 2022 Asian Games. The campaign, ‘Road to Asian Games’ will be officially organized by the AESF and aims to bring the Olympic spirit to eSports and introduce an education program for participating eSports athletes. On 8 July 2023, Talal Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was elected as President of the OCA. However, the IOC refused to recognize the election, and on 30 July 2023, the IOC, in a letter, asked Randhir Singh, who was at the time the Acting President of the OCA, to continue as acting president while the IOC investigated the 2023 OCA presidential election. In July 2024, Singh was elected as the next President of the OCA, and the election, where he was the sole candidate, was unanimously approved by the Election Committee. Singh's presidential election is set to take place at the OCA General Assembly on 8 September 2024.

Member nations

In the following table, the year in which the NOC was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is also given if it is different from the year in which the NOC was created. The NOC for Macau is recognized by the OCA, but is not recognized by the IOC and does not compete in the Olympic Games. The OCA also includes the NOCs of Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, and Palestine. East Timor is the newest member, joining in 2003. The OCA includes the transcontinental country of Kazakhstan, but does not include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia, Turkey, and Russia, although they are located wholly or mostly in Asia. Israel, however, was excluded after the Munich Massacre, upon the claim that their delegation security at the Asian Games would be a problem. The South Caucasian countries opted to join the European Olympic Committees after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Former members

Israel was a member of the Asian Games Federation, but was excluded from the Olympic Council of Asia upon its re-incorporation in 1981. Since 1994, Israel is a member of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) instead.

OCA Regional Zones

OCA Zone 1 (West Asia)

OCA Zone 2 (Central Asia)

OCA Zone 3 (South Asia)

OCA Zone 4 (East Asia)

OCA Zone 5 (Southeast Asia)

Administration

List of presidents

Executive board

Source:

Standing Committee-Chair

Honorary Life Members

OCA General Assembly (GA)

Source: In General Assembly (GA) (OCA Annual General Assembly) hosts of various competitions are introduced and important decisions are made about the countries and sports that covered by OCA.

OCA Executive Board Meeting (EBM)

64th : January 2013 in Manila, Philippines.

OCA Recognized Sports

90 Sports in 1 January 2024. The OCA provides recognition in order for a sport to grow and develop. 2 New sports was added in 2023:

2026 Asian Games program

2026 Asian Games sports: 42 Sports consist of 32 sports from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (Surfing = New sport in Asian Games) + 9 other sports. One from each of the five OCA Zones:Wushu (sport) (East Asia) ,Sepak takraw (Southeast Asia) ,Kabaddi (South Asia), Kurash (Central Asia) ,Jujitsu (West Asia) and 7 Sports from AINAGOC (Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organising Committee) and the Olympic Council of Asia: Baseball/Softball, Cricket, Karate ,Esports ,Squash (sport) ,Dancesport (Breakdance, Virtual) ,Tenpin bowling and proposed: Powerlifting.

Events

Related Events:

Events Summary