Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Hit by Accommodation Crisis as Athletes Complain About Poor Conditions

According to a report by The Global Times, the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games have been caught up in a controversy over accommodation conditions. On the 14th, South Korean sports officials complained to Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the accommodation arrangements for this year’s Games were “the worst in history,” claiming there was a “serious shortage of rooms.”


Container Housing

To cut costs, the organizers of this Asian Games did not build a dedicated athletes’ village. Instead, athletes and officials will be accommodated in a combination of cruise ships, container-style dormitories, and hotels.

Jeong Jae-yong (phonetic spelling), vice president of the Korea Basketball Association, said that the container cabins where the men’s basketball players are staying have beds that are too short. “Players taller than two meters cannot even fully stretch out their legs when lying down. This is completely unreasonable,” he said.

Basketball player Byeon Jun-hyeong (phonetic spelling) posted a video on social media showing water leaking from the sink and the floor being flooded inside the room. He captioned the post: “Please help us.”

Reports indicate that these container-style dormitories will accommodate around 2,000 athletes and officials during the Games. India has even built similar container-style housing facilities domestically to help its athletes adapt in advance.

Jeong criticized the organizing committee, saying that it had “still not provided any response” to South Korea’s concerns. Last week, Nagoya experienced record-breaking rainfall, forcing hundreds of athletes to temporarily evacuate their accommodation areas. More rain is forecast in the coming days.

AFP reported that the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are expected to host more than 17,000 athletes and sports officials, a figure larger than the number of participants at the Olympic Games. Nagoya originally prepared for around 15,000 people, but last month admitted that it had “neither enough manpower nor sufficient budget” to handle the unexpected increase in participants.

A South Korean official said that it is not only the Korean delegation but also other national teams that are facing a “serious shortage of rooms.”

The organizers have rented the cruise ship Costa Serena, which is expected to arrive in Nagoya on the 15th. The ship will provide accommodation for at least 4,000 to 5,000 athletes during the event.