Empty stands and wrong buses: Asian Games organisers under fire

Fewer than 1,000 spectators watched hosts Japan beat South Korea in a women’s football semi-final at the Asian Games in a stadium that holds 50,000, adding to a growing list of problems for organisers in Aichi-Nagoya.

The official attendance for the match at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, a venue for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, was 998, The Express Tribune reported, citing AFP. Earlier the same day, North Korea beat China 2-0 in the other semi-final in front of just 564 people. Japan and North Korea will meet for gold on Friday at the same stadium.

“Not satisfied” with ticket sales

The poor crowds came hours after organisers said more than one million tickets had been sold for Asia’s biggest multi-sport event. They say the overall ticket sales rate is expected to be above 70 percent.

Organisers have been on the defensive about attendance since the opening ceremony on September 19 was held in front of thousands of empty seats. They blamed the threat of a typhoon then, and heavy rain fell from Sunday to Tuesday this week.

Some events have drawn healthy crowds, but even the men’s and women’s 100m finals, the showpiece athletics races, were run in front of rows of empty seats. Organisers admitted on Saturday they were “not satisfied”.

“We will keep aiming for full stadiums, keep selling tickets and work to make sure people who have secured seats actually come,” said Satoshi Murate, secretary-general of the organising committee.

Pakistan’s volleyball team sent to the wrong venue

Transport has been one of the biggest problems. On Monday, Pakistan’s men’s volleyball team were taken to the wrong arena for their match against Uzbekistan, forcing the game to be pushed back by 45 minutes, Dawn reported.

“This is another mismanagement by Japan at the ongoing Asian Games,” Pakistan captain Murad Jehan said in an Instagram video filmed from the bus.

The same morning, South Korea’s men’s volleyball team were driven to Okazaki instead of their training venue in Inuyama, an hour away, and had to cancel practice. South Korea lodged a formal complaint. Their basketball team had earlier missed training when their bus failed to turn up, although they went on to win gold.

An organising committee spokesperson, Ayumi Sakamoto, said the Pakistan and South Korea teams had left from the same accommodation and there was “an error in matching teams to vehicles”. “Each boarded a bus heading to the wrong destination. We sincerely apologise to both teams for the inconvenience,” she said.

The mayor says sorry

Nagoya’s mayor, Ichiro Hirosawa, has also apologised for the “inconveniences” athletes have faced, including:

• Beds: a shortage of beds, and beds in temporary cabins that were too short
• Buses: services that did not run or went to the wrong venues
• Arrivals: athletes stranded for hours at the airport on September 19
• Anthems: North Korea’s anthem played by mistake instead of South Korea’s

To save money, no athletes’ village was built. More than 17,000 athletes and officials are staying in temporary wooden units, a cruise ship and hotels.

Pakistan’s big day ahead

Despite the disruption, Pakistan’s athletes are still chasing medals. Thursday brings three semi-finals: hockey against India at 12:30pm, cricket against Bangladesh, and the men’s squash team against Hong Kong. The Games end on Sunday.

Why it matters

Japan was expected to stage a smooth, well-run Games. Instead, empty seats and repeated logistical failures have become part of the story, and athletes, including Pakistan’s, are paying the price in lost preparation. Read our reports on the men’s squash team’s bronze and on the hockey semi-final against India.

This article draws on reporting by AFP, via Dawn and The Express Tribune.