ISLAMABAD: Islamabad will host 23 sports during the 14th South Asian Games scheduled in March 2027 in Pakistan.
A high-level meeting at the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) decided that Islamabad will be the main centre of the Games and will host nearly 80% of the 28 disciplines to be contested during the 12-day mega event.
The meeting, attended by all the major stakeholders, including the President of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), Arif Saeed and Secretary IPC, Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani, decided to begin preparations for the mega event.
“Islamabad will host the bulk of sports events to be contested during the SA Games while Lahore will hold the rest of the sports events,” one of the officials, when contacted, said.
The 28 sports to be contested during the Games are:
1. Aquatics – Swimming (Men & Women)
2. Archery (Men & Women)
3. Athletics (Men & Women)
4. Badminton (Men & Women)
5. Basketball (3x3 and 5x5, Men & Women)
6. Billiards & Snooker (Men)
7. Boxing (Men & Women)
8. Cricket (Men & Women)
9. Fencing (Men & Women)
10. Football (Men & Women)
11. Golf (Men & Women)
12. Handball (Men & Women) and Beach Handball (Men)
13. Hockey (Men)
14. Judo (Men & Women)
15. Kabaddi (Men & Women)
16. Karate (Men & Women)
17. Rowing (Men & Women)
18. Rugby (Men)
19. Shooting (Men & Women)
20. Squash (Men & Women)
21. Table Tennis (Men & Women)
22. Taekwondo (Men & Women)
23. Tennis (Men & Women)
24. Triathlon (Men & Women)
25. Volleyball (Men & Women) and Beach Volleyball (Men)
26. Weightlifting (Men & Women)
27. Wrestling (Men & Women)
28. Wushu (Men & Women)
The first and foremost challenge for the organizing committee is to select the venues for each event and to establish the Games Secretariat.
The South Asian countries have formally locked in March 23-31, 2027, as the official window for the mega sporting spectacle, giving the options to the host country to adjust the dates, allowing a flexibility of up to one week if required for operational or logistical reasons.
The meeting that was held in Tashkent was also attended by a three-member Indian delegation, which openly and fully endorsed Pakistan’s right to host the Games.
That meeting also unanimously agreed that the sports disciplines and events will remain unchanged, as finalized earlier at the SA countries Executive Committee meeting held on February 25, 2025, in Lahore, and subsequently circulated to all member countries.
