The city of Sapporo has told the Japanese Olympic Committee it wants to join the race to host the 2030 Winter Olympics rather than the 2026 Games, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday.

As many JOC members deem the four-year delay would negatively affect the northern Japanese city's position in the international race, the organization will carefully consider whether it is possible to change the plan, the sources said.

So far, six other potential bid teams have expressed an interest in hosting the 2026 Games. The other candidates are Graz, Austria; Calgary, Canada; Stockholm, Sweden; Sion, Switzerland; Erzurum, Turkey, and the Italian cities of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Milan and Turin.

As the 2018 Games were held in South Korea's Pyeongchang and with Beijing hosting the 2022 Games, Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto has indicated it will be hard for another Asian city to win the race for 2026.