The Olympic Council of Asia has announced that the Asian Youth Games 2025 will be held in Bahrain after Uzbekistan withdrew as host.
An online meeting of the OCA Executive Board on Monday, December 2, heard that the National Olympic Committee of Uzbekistan had sent a letter to the OCA saying they were unable to host the AYG as scheduled in September 2025 as the construction of the Olympic City in Tashkent would not be completed on time.
The OCA Director General, Mr. Husain Al Musallam, said the 2025 AYG was linked to the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal in 2026 regarding the age restrictions and qualification, so the Asian Youth Games could not be postponed.
The Bahrain Olympic Committee said they were ready to host the AYG in 2025 in terms of sports venues, accommodation and medical services.
The Secretary General of Bahrain Olympic Committee, Mr. Faris Al Kooheji, said the Asian Youth Games would have the full support of the leadership and in particular the President of the BOC, His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Khalifa.
The meeting also heard that Bahrain had successfully hosted the International School Sport Federation (ISF) Gymnasiade 2024 in October, with over 5,000 participants including 4,000 athletes.
The OCA Executive Board approved unanimously that the Asian Youth Games 2025 be held in Bahrain, and thanked the Uzbekistan National Olympic Committee for all their investment, saying Uzbekistan would be able to host major events in the future.
The OCA EB meeting was chaired by Dr. Thani Al-Kuwari, second Vice President of the OCA.
