OCA Confirms Esports Keeps Medal Status at Asian Games, Despite Conflicting 2024 Records

The Olympic Council of Asia confirmed on Monday 28 September that esports will retain full medal status at the Asian Games, contradicting earlier reports that the discipline would be removed from the programme after the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

OCA Director General Husain Al-Musallam stated that esports would continue within the Asian Games and pledged the organisation's support for the discipline's development across the continent. "The OCA has not made or issued any announcement regarding esports' removal from the Games," Al-Musallam said.

The confirmation arrives alongside plans for a separate Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games, to launch in Kuwait in 2027. The OCA signed a host city contract with Kuwait on 19 September 2026. According to the organisation, the new competition is designed to give Asian athletes an additional platform, running in parallel with the Asian Games rather than replacing it.

However, the statement sits in tension with Item 6 of the OCA Executive Board's 90th meeting decision, dated 26 November 2024, which explicitly approved a proposal to remove esports from the Asian Games after Aichi-Nagoya and shift it to a separate Asian Esports and Mind Games. That document remains accessible on the OCA's official website with no published amendment or revocation.

Esports has grown significantly within the Asian Games structure. It appeared as a demonstration sport at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, became an official medal event in 2022 at Hangzhou, and currently features 11 titles at Aichi-Nagoya in 2026, including League of Legends, Pokémon UNITE and Honor of Kings. The OCA has not disclosed discipline structures or event lineups for the 2030 Doha Asian Games, with operational details expected in due course.