OCA officials warn on AYG 2017
The two top officials of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) upon visiting the proposed site in Hambantota — the hosting city of the Asian Youth Games (AYG) 2017, stressed that they would like to look at Sri Lanka’s capabilities in the positive manner, if not they may be compelled move the games away.
OCA officials Wei JiZhong, a Life Vice President and Haider Farman, the Director of Asian Games Department were highly concerned on the work load that Sri Lanka has put in for the AYG. For Sri Lanka this will be the biggest ever to be hosted, if local officials manage to persuade the OCA and International Olympic Committee officials to go ahead as planned.
The two OCA officials had visited Hambantota on Wednesday and had lengthy discussion with the officials of the National Olympic Committee (NOC), the AYG Secretarial officials, which included top government bureaucrats. Minister Dilan Perera and Ajith Nivad Cabraal, the Governor of the Central Bank.
“We discussed openly and lengthily with the delegations. Sri Lanka has a promising global plan, but there is a challenge. The plan is clear but it is the very same that we were presented with in Lausanne, Switzerland last November, 2013. Sri Lanka should take necessary steps from now on. We expect Sri Lanka to present a master plan with a budget by April 5. Any delay will bring a negative impact,” said JiZhong.
The AYG which will need a fully fledged stadium and other facilities such as an indoor stadium, a swimming complex and a shooting range, to name a few, has other important segments to be bothered about.
According to NOC chief Fernando, the concluded AYG 2013 in Nanjing, China needed a volunteer force of almost 20,000. The AYG 2017 is in need of over 5000 volunteers but so far the local officials have failed to indicate on how they will work on this project with almost three more years for the games remaining.
“We were in Hambantota and we were a little bit worried knowing there is just an international cricket stadium available. But when we saw the new airport and the seaport and the new highway system we were somewhat satisfied. This is a good start but still not enough,” JiZhong added.
The Director of Asian Games Department, Haider Farman said despite the commitment of the Sri Lankan government there are grey areas which the host needs to work on.
“No country would like to be embarrassed at top level. If Sri Lanka fails, the AYG 2017 will be withdrawn from them. As at present we are partly satisfied but not totally, because construction and other areas should move on faster than how it is today and there must be a clear vision on how Sri Lanka is going to recruit volunteers. We need to see more people, schools and universities of the hosting city to get involved as well as from the whole country. This is a game for the youth and the involvement of the younger generation is not visible yet,” explained Farman who went on to relate a fitting example as his observation.
“It’s not about the size of a country that matters, it’s about the spirit of the countrymen. A good example is Qatar. They hosted a wonderful Asian Games in 2007 which left them a legacy and a big group of qualified individuals, who are part of almost 20 international events hosted by Qatar annually today. What we need to see in Sri Lanka is the same spirit. At the moment the ball is in Sri Lanka’s court and it’s about how you handle the issue now. We would like to see Sri Lanka take all aspects positively,” Farman added.
Sri Lanka’s delegation, inclusive of officials from the NOC, AYG secretariat, Ministry of Sports and the OCA officials will meet on April 5 to decide on the future of AYG 2017, either in Colombo or in Kuwait.