Incheon, South Korea, "is looking to host the headquarters" of the Olympic Council of Asia in a bid to "raise the city's international profile, officials said," according to YONHAP. The Incheon municipal government said that it has "recently submitted an offer" to the OCA that the city wants to house the OCA HQ. The HQ of the OCA has been in Kuwait City since the organization was formed in '82. But following an IOC sanction on Kuwait, "doubts have been raised about the OCA's tenure in Kuwait City." Incheon, located just west of Seoul, said that it has "high expectations of winning the bid." The city "is already home base" for 14 int'l institutions. Incheon said that it has proposed "various incentives, including rent-free office space," to accommodate the OCA HQ. The city plans to have the building in its Songdo Int'l Business District. Incheon added that should the OCA HQ move to the city, "it can further grow" its int'l presence and can be recognized like Lausanne in Switzerland, home to the IOC and some 50 int'l sport associations. However, critics said that budget "could be a problem." For the incentives that Incheon promised the OCA, the city needs more than 800M won ($691,200) a year. Incheon already spends 7 billion won ($6.1M) every year to support its existing int'l organizations (YONHAP, 7/8).
