MANILA -- The Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) on Wednesday formally signed partnership agreements with the first group of sponsors for the 30th SEA Games slated November 30 to December 11 this year.
The signing of the memorandum of agreements (MOA) between PHISGOC chairman Allan Peter Cayetano and representatives from Philippine Airlines (PAL), Atos, GL Events, Grand Sport, Sonak Corporation, Asics and Media-Pro Asia was held at the Kalayaan Hall in SM Aura Premier, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
“We are very thankful to the first set of sponsors who took the leap of faith and who I know, wants to do much good in our society, Philippine sports and Southeast Asian sports. And hopefully, we will do justice to the value that the SEA Games will give to your companies,” Cayetano said in his opening remarks.
“With the entry of e-games, we’re not only expecting a Southeast Asian audience of 600 million, including 200 million regular viewers of e-games. We also have a big Filipino community abroad which we know will be watching the competition. With the help of social media, I think that the value that this will bring to our partners will be tremendous. We will do our best and we will make sure that every centavo spent on this Games will have real value for you, your company and your product,” he added.
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman William “Butch” Ramirez and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) secretary general Patrick Gregorio were also present to witness the MOA signing.
“More than just investing in this year’s SEA Games, you are investing in our country, our people and the development of our athletes. Not only Filipino athletes but athletes of the Southeast Asian region,” Ramirez said.
Philippines Airlines, which operates an extensive regional network from various Asian cities, will fly sports leaders from ASEAN countries to Manila.
“By serving as the official carrier, we bring together the movers and shakers of Southeast Asian sports. It is a privilege to be part of a mission that promotes sportsmanship, teamwork and unity, and brings honor and glory to the Philippines as the host and athletic competitor,” said PAL president Jose Bautista.
Atos, a global leader in digital solutions company based in Spain, will handle the SEAG management system while the French firm GL Events, a world-class provider of integrated solutions and services for past international sporting events, will lead in doing overlays of 39 sporting venues.
On the other hand, Thailand’s Grand Sport will provide the uniforms for the workforce, volunteers and technical officials while Sonak Corporation is the exclusive distributor of Asics (the official outfitter of the Philippine delegation) and official ball and sporting equipment Mikasa, Marathon and Molten.
Media-Pro Asia, another company based in Spain, is the host broadcast production partner and official media rights and sponsorship partner.
The 30th SEA Games, which the Philippines will host for the fourth time, is touted as the biggest in the tournament’s history, with 56 sports and 523 events spread across venues in Clark (Pampanga), Subic (Olongapo), Tagaytay (Cavite) and Metro Manila.
The 56 sports are athletics and aquatics (category 1); archery, badminton, baseball/softball, basketball, billiards, bowling (tenpin), boxing, canoe kayak traditional boat race, chess, cycling, dance sport, fencing, football, golf, gymnastics, handball, hockey, ice hockey, ice skating, judo, karatedo, lawn tennis, modern pentathlon, muay, pencak silat, polo, rowing, rugby sevens, sailing/windsurfing, sepak takraw, skateboarding, shooting, soft tennis, squash, surfing, table tennis, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu (category 2); and arnis, floorball, jujitsu, kickboxing, kurash, lawn bowls, petanque, netball, obstacle course race, sambo, vovinam, underwater hockey and wakeboarding.
The 11 participating countries in the SEAG are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Timor Leste, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. (PNA)
