OCA Denies Plan to Remove Esports From Asian Games After 2026
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has denied it has any plan to remove esports from the Asian Games, days after reports cited an official OCA decision document approving exactly that. The confusion followed the OCA's confirmation that Kuwait will host a new, separate Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games in 2027.
OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam said in a statement issued on September 28, 2026 that "the OCA has not made or issued any decision regarding the removal of esports from the Asian Games" and that claims esports is leaving the programme "do not reflect the OCA's plans." The statement was carried by China's state news agency Xinhua and distributed through the OCA's official WeChat channel, AsianGamesOCA.
That directly contradicts a decision document published on the OCA's own website. According to the minutes of the OCA Executive Board's 90th meeting, held on November 26, 2024, the board "unanimously approved the proposal of the Esports, Martial Arts and Mind Sports Committee to remove the Esports from the Asian Games Programme after the Aichi Nagoya Asian Games and hold a separate Asian Esports and Mind Games."
The document, listed under the OCA's Decisions of GA/EB index, carries no amendment or retraction notice as of September 29, 2026.
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Kuwait to host new Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games in 2027
The dispute surfaced after the OCA signed a Host City Contract with Kuwait on September 19, 2026 to stage the inaugural Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games in 2027, a new standalone continental event separate from the Asian Games.
Al Musallam said the popularity of esports in Asia was "a key consideration" behind creating the new event, adding that it "will not diminish the standing of esports on the Asian Games programme" and that the OCA "will continue to support the development of esports in Asia as it always has."
Esports has been a medal discipline at the last two editions of the Asian Games. Eleven esports titles, including League of Legends, Honor of Kings and Pokemon Unite, were contested at the ongoing 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, which run from September 19 to October 4, 2026. The next edition of the Asian Games is scheduled for Doha, Qatar in 2030.
Why it matters for esports betting markets
The status of esports within a recognised, Olympic-affiliated multi-sport event matters to operators building out esports betting sites, since continental federation backing lends competitions a legitimacy that standalone tournaments lack.
A clear removal from the Asian Games programme, followed by a rebrand into a separate event, could change how sportsbooks and data providers plan long-term coverage of Olympic-adjacent esports competition. The OCA has not clarified whether its 2024 decision document has been formally rescinded, so the programme's status beyond Aichi-Nagoya 2026 remains unresolved.
The OCA's esports push began in earnest in February 2025, when its Executive Board approved the 11-title esports programme for the Aichi-Nagoya Games in an emergency online meeting. The federation has continued to publicise the Kuwait 2027 event as evidence of its commitment to the discipline, even as the contradiction over the Asian Games programme itself remains unaddressed.
The dispute has not affected the ongoing Aichi-Nagoya competition itself. The OCA says the 11-title esports lineup at the 2026 Asian Games will proceed as scheduled regardless of the disagreement over future editions, and it has issued no update to the National Olympic Committees that took part in the August 2026 confirmation of esports entries.
