BANGKOK: The inaugural world beach games could go ahead in 2017 featuring sports like beach track and field and beach American football, a senior Olympic official said on Wednesday.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said the move followed the success of the Asian Beach Games, whose fourth edition starts next week in Thailand with a new-look program.

The influential Association of National Olympic Committees president said the proposal would be put to the 204-member body’s general assembly in Bangkok this week.

“The Beach Games are becoming more international, more acceptable and more economic, also because with Beach Games there’s not a lot of operational cost,” he told reporters in the Thai capital.

“In the end if the general assembly approves the Beach Games we have a lot of interesting (things) in hand but I don’t want to release them,” added the Kuwaiti.

“But at least I can assure these Games will be a success and from the beginning, secure financially and technically.”

The new event is yet to be named with the word “Olympic” trademarked. A title for the tournament will be announced following approval by the general assembly, which is taking place on Friday and Saturday.

Phuket will be the first Asian Beach Games to include beach track and field, which features 60-meter sprints, shot put, long jump, high jump and cross country.

Jet-skiing, water polo, body building, Russian martial art sambo and the croquet-style woodball are also among a varied program to be contested over 10 days in the Thai resort.

Sheikh Ahmad said several cities had expressed an interest in hosting the global beach games, which also has precursors in Latin America and the Mediterranean.

The biannual Asian Beach Games were started by the Olympic Council of Asia — which Sheikh Ahmad also heads — in 2008 and have taken place in Indonesia’s Bali, Muscat in Oman and Haiyang in China.