The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) announced earlier this week that they would be implementing stricter rules and guidelines for national athletes who receive federal assistance.
PSC chairman Butch Ramirez told media sources that only performing athletes who take part in the 30th Southeastern Asian Games (SEA) will get financial assistance for the next upcoming year. The Southeast Asia Games are scheduled to take begin on November 30th and last throughout December 11th, 2019.
Ramirez also stated that an overall assessment of all national athletes would take place to determine who deserves the assistance. Starting January of 2020, the federal aid will go to performance-based for all athletes. Currently, the Philippine government is backing 1,115 Filipino athletes who compete across 56 different sports.
The PSC has already allocated over P1.2 billion for different athletic needs, including training, equipment, player allowances, and more. Ramirez said that the PSC would categorize players into three tiers.
Tier 1 will be composed of athletes who have brought great pride to the country. The PSC has already named 20 athletes who will fall into this tier, including Carlos Edriel Yulo (Gymnastics), Nesthy Petecio (Boxing), Hidilyn Diaz (Weighlifting), Ej Obiena (Pole Vault), and Margielyn Didal (Skateboarding).
Tier 2 will consist of national sports associations whose athletes don’t belong in tier 1 but deserve assistance. Tier 3 will be comprised of non-performing sports and the athletes associated with their games.
Ramirez ended his announcement stating that other countries identify their focus sports where the majority of their budget goes. He said that the PSC doesn’t want to cut funding, but plans on giving the most assistance to athletes they know are capable of succeeding.
SEA Games
The SEA Games will consist of three categories: Compulsory Sports, Olympic and Asian Games Sports, Regional, and New Sports. Some of the more exciting sports added this to this year’s games are eSports, Floorball, Arnis, and Wakeboarding.
Odds for betting on the SEA Games will be available from online sportsbooks that are legal in the Philippines. PH gambling laws do not restrict Filipinos from accessing online sportsbooks operating from outside the Philippines. To learn more about the sports betting options available to you, see our guide to betting on mobile sportsbooks.
