The first FESPIC Games was held in Oita, Japan in 1975. There were limited opportunities for persons with disabilites in Asia and the Pacific to participate in sports at the time. The FESPIC Games was launched to address this issue and promote understanding toward disabled persons in each country, as well as improve their social welfare.
The number of participant countries increased during FESPIC history. Central Asian countries Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and , as well as Azerbaijan, first participated in the 7th FESPIC Games in 1999. The Middle Eastern countries were allowed to compete in the 9th FESPIC Games in 2006, along with Timor-Leste. Middle East countries were previously not allowed to compete in FESPIC Games from 1975 to 2002 because these countries were Africa/Middle Eastern members.
The 9th FESPIC Games was the last and final edition of the series which took place in 2006. For Asian countries, the FESPIC Games is being replaced by the Asian Para Games, starting with the inaugural 2010 Asian Para Games which was be held in 2010 Guangzhou, China after the 16th Asian Games.
Year |
Dates |
City/ Country |
Nations |
Participants |
|
1st |
1975 |
Jun. 1 - 3 |
Oita& Beppu, Japan |
18 |
973 |
2nd |
1977 |
Nov. 20 - 26 |
Merrylands, Sydney, Australia |
16 |
430 |
3rd |
1982 |
Oct. 31-Nov. 7 |
Sha Tin, Hong Kong |
23 |
744 |
4th |
1986 |
Aug. 31-Sep. 7 |
Surakarta, Indonesia |
19 |
834 |
5th |
1989 |
Sep. 15-20 |
Kobe, Japan |
41 |
1,646 |
6th |
1994 |
Sep. 4-10 |
Beijing, China |
42 |
2,081 |
7th |
1999 |
Jan. 10-16 |
Bangkok, Thailand |
34 |
2,258 |
8th |
2002 |
Oct. 26-Nov. 1 |
Busan, Korea |
40 |
2,199 |
9th |
2006 |
Nov. 25 - Dec. 1 |
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
46 |
3,641 |
