Bambol boosts sports tourism

MANILA, Philippines — POC president Bambol Tolentino is pushing for the Philippines to host more international sports events in a bid to establish the country as a major tourism destination during what two-time Asian Games pole vault gold medalist EJ Obiena called the Golden Age.

The proliferation of world-class Filipino athletes is proof that the nation is enjoying a Golden Age of Sports with the emergence of Obiena, Carlos Yulo, Alex Eala, Pedro Taduran, Carlos Biado, Chezka Centeno, Ian de los Santos and Jeus Yape.

During a recent Senate hearing, Committee on Sports chair Sen. Bong Go disclosed that POC is planning to make a hosting bid for the 2039 Asian Games. The Philippines has hosted only one Asian Games in 1954. The next Asiad will be held in Doha in 2031 then in Riyadh in 2035. The 2039 host is still to be determined.

Tolentino said the Philippines is set to host the first-ever Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games on Dec. 2-14 next year. Four main staging hubs will be in Manila, Pasig, Tagaytay and Subic. Aside from Southeast Asian countries, nations expected to participate include Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Chinese-Taipei, Nepal, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Macau. The calendar will feature 12 Olympic sports, five non-Olympic sports and one traditional sport (arnis).

Another event that the Philippines will host is the Asian Beach Games in Cebu in March 2028. The preliminary program lists 24 sports subject to Olympic Council of Asia approval with an estimated 45 countries joining.

Tolentino said the Philippines is also bidding to host the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) in 2030. AIMAG hasn’t been held since 2017 in Turkmenistan and the seventh edition will be in Riyadh this December. The program includes non-Asian Games sports like sambo, pétanque, dancesport and chess. Also bidding for the 2030 AIMAG is Mongolia. “Hindi madali to bid for Asian events which is why we’re appealing for government and private sector support,” said Tolentino. “For the Asian Beach Games, for example, nag-submit na tayo ng budget sa DBM. We’re competing against countries with more facilities and resources. But ‘di tayo maiiwanan sa organization, coordination at hospitality.”