South Asia Olympic Council Explained

South Asia Olympic Council
Abbreviation:	SAOC
Type:	Sports governing body
Purpose:	South Asian Games
Membership:	South Asia
Language:	English
Leader Title:	President
Leader Name:	Lieutenant-General Syed Arif Hasan
Leader Title3:	Secretary General
Leader Name3:	Muhammad Khalid Mahmood
Affiliations:	Olympic Council of Asia

The South Asia Olympic Council, aka SAOC and formerly known as the South Asian Sports Federation, is the governing body of sports in South Asia. It currently has 7 National Olympic Committees members.

History

South Asian Games Federation (SAGF) was formed officially in 1983.^[1] In 2004, in 32nd meeting of South Asian Sports Federation held at Islamabad (Pakistan), it was decided to rename it to its current name i.e. South Asia Olympic Council.^[2]

The SAOC headquarters is located in host city of future South Asian Games and the President of NOC hosting the SAG holds the position of SAOC President. Its current President is Lieutenant-General Syed Arif Hasan from Pakistan.

Member nations

Following is the list of member countries of SAOC:

S. No.	Member
1.	Bangladesh Olympic Association
2.	Bhutan Olympic Committee
3.	Indian Olympic Association
4.	Maldives Olympic Committee
5.	Nepal Olympic Committee
6.	National Olympic Committee of Pakistan
7.	National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka

Former members

Following is the list of former member countries of SAOC:

SAOC Presidents

As per the Constitution of SAOC, the President of NOC hosting the next South Asian Games is the president of SAOC.

S. No.	Name	Country	Term
1.			1983 – 1984
2.			1984 – 1985
3.			1985 – 1987
4.			1987 – 1989
5.	Data Unavailable		1989 – 1991
6.			1991 – 1991
7.			1991 – 1991
8.			1992 – 1992
9.			1992 – 1993
10.			1993 – 1995
11.			1995 – 1998
12.			1998 – 1999
13.			1999 – 2004
14.	Data Unavailable		2004 – 2006
15.			2006 – 2009
16.			2009 – 2010
17.			2010 – 2011
Acting			2011 – 2012
18.			2012 – 2014
19.			2014 – 2016
20.			2016 – 2019
21.			2019 – present

Events

• South Asian Games
• South Asian Winter Games
• South Asian Beach Games

Competition	Edition	Top rank	Title	Runners-up	Most successful	Next edition
South Asian Games	Kathmandu and Pokhara 2019		13th		(13)	Lahore 2025
South Asian Winter Games	Dehradun and Auli 2011		1st		(1)
South Asian Beach Games	Hambantota 2011		1st		(1)

See also

• Central Asian Games
• East Asian Games (now defunct)
• East Asian Youth Games
• South Asian Games
• Southeast Asian Games
• West Asian Games

Notes and References

1. News: About South Asia Olympic Council . 13SAG Nepal . 10 November 2019 .
2. News: It will be south Asian Games . Rediff Sports . 2 April 2004.