Olympic Council of Asia plans to reduce the number of Asian Games participants; may introduce qualification system
With the 2026 Asian Games on the horizon, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is planning a significant overhaul of the tournament’s participation system in a bid to reduce the number of teams taking part in the quadrennial event. This move comes after the ever-growing number of competitors have made the hosting of the tournament ‘unmanageable’.
In a bid to reduce the number of teams participating in the Asian Games, the OCA has planned to introduce a qualification system where teams failing to achieve the set criteria will not gain participation in the event. The OCA members are currently in conversation with several federations competing in the tournament, including the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Speaking on the matter in a recent media interaction session, OCA Deputy Director General Vinod Tiwari said (as per PTI):
“We have spoken to the Asian Football Confederation. We are trying to reduce the number of teams for the Asian Games. So, we will have a qualification before and then the qualified teams will go to the Asian Games. Because, otherwise, it becomes unmanageable. It was China [Hangzhou in 2023] so we could manage 15,000 athletes. But in Japan, [2026 host)] it would be impossible to have 15,000 athletes.”
“We are now trying to sit down with each federation and trying to reduce the number of teams that will participate in the team sports. We fully understand that the country which is hosting the Asian Games suffers a lot because there is no qualification and too many athletes come and participate and everybody sends their team,” he added.
Around 15,000 athletes took part in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, compared to the 10,500 athletes that took part in the Paris Olympics 2024.
How will the new Asian Games qualification system impact India?
If and when the new Asian Games qualification criteria come into place, it is bound to impact countries like India, whose sporting teams are still not ranked well across sporting events such as football.
As a result, if the criteria regarding qualification are strictly followed, the Indian football teams will most likely miss out on participating in the upcoming tournament.
Speaking about whether federations such as India have requested special dispensation to send teams to the quadrennial event, an unnamed OAC official said (as per PTI):
“If there is a set qualification system, then those teams which qualify will only be allowed. That would be the idea behind the whole thing. But, of course, if there is a special request, we will have to consider it... but I cannot promise anything at the moment.”