The Jordanian Olympic Committee announced today, Thursday, that it has submitted a bid to host the 17th edition of the "Arab Sports Games" scheduled to take place in 2031. The committee stated that the hosting file was delivered at the headquarters of the "Arab National Olympic Committees" in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The Secretary-General of the Jordanian Olympic Committee, Rana Al-Saeed, expressed that "the desire of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to host the Arab Sports Games stems from its importance in the development of Jordanian and Arab sports since its first launch in 1953."
She emphasized that the Arab Sports Games "holds great significance for Jordanians, especially when Jordan hosted the ninth edition (Hussein Games) in 1999, which contributed to the development and construction of sports facilities that served Jordanian sports and led to its growth and increase in the number of sports practitioners."
Al-Saeed noted that "Jordan is keen to once again host Arab athletes in 2031 to embody the goals of the Arab Games and to bring together Arab youth in a unique fraternal atmosphere and fair competition, reaffirming Arab unity through sports."
Algeria hosted the last edition of the "Arab Sports Games" last summer, after it could not be held since the 2011 edition in Qatar. Lebanon declined to host the thirteenth edition in 2015 due to security reasons, which was then transferred to Morocco that also declined. The 2019 edition was initially planned for Iraq but was postponed multiple times before the "Arab National Olympic Committees" decided to hold it in Algeria last summer for the second time after the first in 2004. Saudi Arabia will host the next edition in 2027.
The first edition of the Arab sports gathering began in 1953 in Alexandria, Egypt, which co-hosted the 1965 edition with Syria under the name "United Arab Republic," followed by the 2007 edition. Lebanon hosted the games in 1957 and 1997, Morocco in 1961 and 1985, Syria in 1976 and 1992, Algeria in 2004 and 2023, while Jordan hosted it in 1999 and Qatar in 2011.
