Pakistan, Sept. 18 -- Olympic Council of Asia Director General Husain Al-Musallam has backed a larger Asian Games. His comments came despite accommodation problems affecting this year's event in Japan. He said Friday that he would prefer an athletes' village for the Games.

The Asian Games open in Nagoya and Aichi prefecture on Saturday. More than 17,000 athletes and officials are expected to attend. Organisers avoided building an athletes' village to reduce costs. Instead, they placed participants in hotels, temporary huts and a cruise ship.

Some teams have raised concerns about the accommodation. South Korean officials reported a serious shortage of rooms. Philippine officials said some participants had turned to Airbnb. Others have co...