TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The executive board of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has named Indonesia as the host for the 2018 Asian Games on Friday, September 19, 2014.
The pan-Asian sporting event had been in limbo because Vietnam - who had been chosen to host the 2018 games - backed out due to financial difficulties.
"Today, the executive board has decided that the 2018 Asian Games will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia," said OCA's president Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, as reported by AFP.
OCA is slated to hold a plenary session on Saturday to legitimise the appointment. However, Sheikh Ahmad had previously said that an earlier special session convened by OCA has given him the "authority to decide and find a host to replace Vietnam".
The meeting was convened in Incheon, South Korea, prior to the launch of the 17th Asian Games - where 13,000 athletes, coaches, and officials from 45 nations will compete across 36 different branches of sport.
Vietnam had initially won the right to host the 18th Asian Games in 2019 before withdrawing, citing "economic crisis" as a factor.
Initially, the games were scheduled for 2019 to avoid clashing with the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, Indonesia requested that the games be held in 2018 if it were to host, because the Presidential Election is scheduled to be held in 2019.
ANTARANEWS