GANEFO


The Games of the New Emerging Forces were the games set up by Indonesia as a counter to the Olympic Games. Established for the athletes of the so-called "emerging nations", GANEFO was the name given both to the games held in Jakarta in 1963 and the 36-member sporting federation established the same year. A second GANEFO scheduled for Cairo in 1967 was cancelled and GANEFO had only one subsequent event, an "Asian GANEFO" held in Phnom Penh in 1966.

Sports and politics at GANEFO

established GANEFO in the aftermath of IOC censure for the politically charged 4th edition of Asian Games in 1962 in Jakarta which Indonesia hosted and for which Taiwan and Israel were refused entry cards. The IOC's eventual reaction was to indefinitely suspend Indonesia from the IOC. Indonesia had “thrown down a challenge to all international amateur sports organizations, which cannot very well be ignored,” in the words of IOC president Avery Brundage. This was the first time the IOC suspended one of its members, although Indonesia was readmitted in time for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Ten countries announced plans to form GANEFO in April 1963, and 36 countries signed on as members in November 1963. GANEFO made it clear in its constitution that politics and sport were intertwined; this ran against the doctrine of the International Olympic Committee, which strove to separate politics from sport. Indonesian president Sukarno responded that the IOC was itself political because it did not have the People's Republic of China or North Vietnam as members; the IOC was simply "a tool of the imperialists and colonialists." Nevertheless, the IOC decreed that the athletes attending GANEFO would be ineligible to participate in the Olympic Games.
Sukarno would later form, with Chinese support, a Conference of New Emerging Forces, or CONEFO.''

1st GANEFO

Participating states in 1st GANEFO

The first edition of GANEFO was held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 10 to 22 November 1963. Athletes from 46 states dispatched about 2,700 athletes and 7 nations sent staff and officials. In total, 51 states participated in the Games from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America such as Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burma, Cambodia, Chile, Ceylon, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, DPR Korea, the Dominican Republic, Finland, France, the German Democratic Republic, Guinea, Hungary, Indonesia, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Laos, Lebanon, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, People's Republic of China, the Philippines, Poland, Republic of Mali, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, Thailand, Tunisia, Soviet Union, North Vietnam, the United Arab Republic, Uruguay, Yugoslavia, and 1 other state. Unlike the Olympics, there was also a team representing "Arab Palestine."
No country, however, was represented officially by its national Olympics committee, for fear of IOC reprisals. For instance, the Soviet Union, in a show of solidarity, sent athletes to the first GANEFO, but in order not to jeopardize their position in the IOC, the Soviet athletes were not of Olympic caliber. Japan let their athletes of non-Olympic caliber attend the first GANEFO to take account of the host nation's position of 1964 Summer Olympics. Nevertheless, in the lead-up to the first GANEFO, the Japanese NOC did receive a thinly-veiled threat from the American IOC President at the time, Avery Brundage, regarding Japanese participation in the first GANEFO.

Commemorative stamps

Medal table at 1st GANEFO

In the first edition of GANEFO, China was the highest ranking state with 65 gold medals, Soviet Union the second, followed by the United Arab Republic on the third, Indonesia the fourth, and North Korea the fifth. In all, 48 countries reportedly won medals.
This medal table is incomplete and inaccurate; you can help by expanding it.

2nd GANEFO (1st Asian GANEFO)

The second edition of GANEFO had been planned to be held in Cairo, the United Arab Republic in 1967, but this was canceled for various political reasons.
The second GANEFO was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November 25 – December 6, 1966.

Participating Nations in 2nd GANEFO (1st Asian GANEFO)

About 2,000 athletes participated in the 2nd edition of GANEFO from 17 nations. The games were opened by Prince Sihanouk, the prime minister of Cambodia.
The second GANEFO was restricted to Asia, except Guinea which participated in the qualifying tournament in Pyongyang, North Korea in August 1–11, 1965. Consequently, only 17 Asian countries participated in the second tournament in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November 25 – December 6, 1966 which was named '1st Asian GANEFO'.

Medal table at 2nd GANEFO (1st Asian GANEFO)

In the second edition of GANEFO, China PR was the highest ranking nation with 108 gold medals, North Korea the second, and the host nation, Cambodia, the third.
This medal table is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

2nd Asian GANEFO

In September 1967 was announced a second Asian GANEFO to be held in Beijing, China, in 1970, but later Beijing dropped the plans to host the Games, which were then awarded to Pyongyang, North Korea. But the Games never occurred and the GANEFO organisation collapsed.