The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has agreed to begin discussions towards shifting the year of the Asian Games to an odd-numbered year, the year before the Summer Olympics, at a board meeting earlier this week in Sanya, China where the Asian Beach Games are being held.

If approved, the 2030 Games in Doha, which were originally scheduled to run from November 4 to 19 that year, and Riyadh’s 2034 edition would move to 2031 and 2035, respectively. The 20th edition of the Games, Aichi-Nagoya Games 2026, which will be held from September 19 to October 4, remains unaffected.

The proposed change will mean that there will be a five-year gap between the Nagoya and Doha games.

It was reported that this proposal was also discussed at the board meeting in February, when Philippine Olympic Committee president Bambol Tolentino, who took part in the meeting, said it was the International Olympic Committee’s call to move the Asian Games to odd-numbered years, and “the OCA has to follow and adopt the recommendation of the IOC”.

Traditionally held two years before the Olympics in even years, the change would align the Asian Games with other continental multiple-sports events including the Pan American Games, European Games and African Games, now all scheduled in the year before the Olympics.

Speculation has emerged that the Asian Games could serve as the qualifier for the Olympic Games if the calendar is changed.