Islamabad, 23rd August 2026: The Executive Committee of the South Asia Olympic Council (SAOC) met in Islamabad today to review preparations for the 14th South Asian Games, which Pakistan will host from 3rd to 11th April 2027 in Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar.
The meeting was chaired by Mr. Arif Saeed, President SAOC and Pakistan Olympic Association, and brought together representatives of the National Olympic Committees of Bangladesh (Mr. Md. Jubaidur Rahman and Major Imroze Ahmed (Retd)), Bhutan (Mr. Nim Dorji), India (Dr. P.T. Usha, Mr. Roghuram Iyer, and Mr. Ajay Naranag), Maldives (Mr. Mohamed Abdul Sattar and Mr. Thamooh Ahmed Saeed), Nepal (Mr. Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Mr. Chaturananda Raj Vaidya and Ms. Sikka Suwal Shrestha) and Sri Lanka (Mr. Asanga Seneviratne Seneviratne and Mr. Ajith Siyambalapitiya). The occasion allowed the Olympic family of the region to take stock of the work in hand and to renew its shared resolve to deliver a memorable edition of the Games.
The 14th South Asian Games will feature 28 sports, with women competing in 25 of them, and 346 medal events across nine days of competition. The Games are expected to bring together close to 3,200 athletes within an overall delegation of around 4,200 participants. Preparations are advancing across 28 competition venues in the three host cities, and the Committee was briefed on the progress achieved in Lahore and Peshawar. The delegation will visit the venues in Islamabad tomorrow.
The Committee also reviewed the wider arrangements that will carry the Games, from accommodation and transport to the coordination meetings and Games-time services, and took note of the preparations under way for the pre-launch activities and the 100 Days to Go milestone as Pakistan enters the final phase of its work.
The progress placed before the Executive Committee reflects the steady and deliberate effort with which Pakistan is preparing to receive the athletes and officials of the region. With the competition schedule, the host cities and the sports programme now firmly in place, Pakistan looks forward to welcoming South Asia in April 2027 in a spirit of friendship, cooperation and unity through sport.
Pakistan is ready to welcome South Asia”
