The Olympic Council of Asia (OCASIA) expressed their amazement over the opening ceremony of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines so they made a surprising offer to the country.
According to the news, OCASIA was impressed by the opening ceremony so they’re asking the Philippines to bid the hosting rights for the 2030 Asian Games.
Olympic Council of Asia Vice President Wei Jizhong said that after the Philippines made the 30th SEA Games opening ceremony successful, the country already proves that they’re ‘credible’ in bigger sports events like Asian Games.
“The Philippine Arena is perhaps a unique arena in the world. We witnessed the enthusiasm of all athletes, and showed the excellent tradition of the SEA Games so far,” he said.
“This means that the Philippines is capable to organize bigger-scale Games,” he added.
PANOORIN | Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Vice Chair Wei Jizhong, napahanga sa opening ceremony ng SEA Games 2019. | via Merry Ann Bastasa pic.twitter.com/BdIg4pDP0S
— Radyo Pilipinas (@radyopilipinas1) December 2, 2019
The Philippine government is not yet responding to the offer of the OCASIA if they’re going to push the hosting of the prestigious sporting event.
In 2018, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano who’s the Foreign Affairs Secretary during that time said that they’re planning to bid for the hosting rights for the 2030 Asian Games.
“Maybe you should be the first to know outside the small group. We actually want to bid for the 2030 Asian Games,” Cayetano said.
The Olympic Council of Asia is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees.
The member countries include Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Chinese Taipei, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen.
Meanwhile, SEA Games, the current event being hosted by the Philippines only includes 11 countries.
The Philippines hosted the Asian Games in 1954 with 13 total participants, Japan won the most medal in the said event getting 98, while our country placed second with 45 medals.