Sheikh Ahman Elected for Sixth Term as Olympic Council of Asia President

July 15, 2011

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah has been re-elected for a sixth term as president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) at the organisation’s general assembly in Tokyo on Thursday.

The 49-year-old Kuwaiti first assumed the post in 1991 and has also been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1992.

In his victory speech, Sheikh Ahmad hailed PyeongChang’s successful bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics after the South Korean city overcame the challenges of Munich in Germany and Annecy in France to secure the hosting rights last week.

Sheikh Ahmad said: “This is Asia, and Asia is always ready to host sports events. I would like to congratulate our friends from Korea, from PyeongChang, for winning the bid to host the Olympic Winter Games in 2018. This is another success for our family and will give added value to the Olympic movement.”

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, who was attending the general assembly, said he would welcome another “strong bid” for the 2020 Olympics from Tokyo. The Japanese capital, which is still recovering from the effects of a devastating earthquake earlier this year, is expected to confirm its application to host the Games over the coming days.

Rogge said: “We feel absolutely safe. We are totally assured that international competitions can take place in Japan.”

At the OCA’s 30th annual general assembly, the 36-sport competition program for the 2014 Incheon Asian Games in South Korea was approved, with softball included under the category of baseball after having been dropped initially. Soft tennis was also included under the tennis banner.