OCA self-evaluation: “The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are the most successful ever”

Self-evaluation at the tournament closing press conference… The unbuilt athletes’ village was also well received.

(Nagoya = Yonhap News) Reporter Dae-ho Lee = The leadership of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Games Organizing Committee (AINAGOC) evaluated themselves at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games settlement press conference held at the Main Media Center (MMC) in Nagoya, Japan on the 4th, saying that this Games presented the most successful and sustainable model of all time.

OCA Secretary-General Hussein Al Musallam directly refuted criticism of transportation and operational disruptions that arose during the Games, citing specific figures.

He emphasized, "More than 60,000 people moved every day, including 17,000 players and coaches, 7,000 media, and 30,000 volunteers. Out of 100,000 vehicle transports, only one or two were delayed, which is 0.00001% of the total number of moves."

Secretary-General Al Musallam said, "Just because one or two of the more than 100,000 movements were delayed does not mean that there was a problem or failure in the system. The only problem was unexpected natural disasters such as heavy rain that hit Tokyo and Nagoya. Despite this, the competition went smoothly and the athletes set numerous new records."

The method of using prefabricated containers and cruise ships as accommodations instead of the existing large-scale apartment-type athletes' village also received favorable reviews.

Secretary-General Al Musallam pointed out, “More than anything, it is positive that Nagoya will not be left with an embarrassing complex that only requires enormous maintenance costs after the Games are over.”

OCA Coordination Committee Chairman Mohammad Tayab Ikram also commented, "It was a new model for organizing the Games without a huge athletes' village. It is not perfect and there are some things to improve, but it was definitely one of the successful models, and it will serve as an excellent example that can be referenced for other future Games, such as the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, which are being prepared to be held in dispersed formats."

Hideaki Omura, chairman of the organizing committee, expressed his thoughts at the end of the competition, saying, "This competition broke more than 50 new world records and about 90 new Asian records. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the athletes who showed great performances and the total of 40,000 volunteers who guarded the site with an average of 6,000 people per day."

Meanwhile, Secretary-General Al Musallam said about the economic performance of the competition, "This competition's marketing and sponsorship revenue increased by 19% compared to the 2023 Hangzhou Games," and added, "As we have confirmed the enormous popularity of e-sports events, we plan to hold an Asian Games exclusively for e-sports next year, and will also consider maintaining it as an official event in the Asian Games."

He also added that the Asian Games are having an impact on peace, citing North Korea's good performance this year as an example.