Fernandez presses NSAs to gather private support

PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Despite the uncertainty of Vietnam hosting the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games as scheduled this year, Team Philippines chef de mission Ramon Fernandez still sees the necessity for sports associations without godfathers to press efforts on finding backers for their bubble training.

Fernandez, a commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), said the sports agency won’t be able to subsidize all the financial requirements for the training of athletes bound for the SEA Games based on the budget proposal submitted by the national sports associations (NSAs).

Reports said that the Vietnamese government, which has scheduled to host the SEA Games from Nov. 21 to Dec. 2 in Hanoi, asked for more time to decide whether it will push through with the 11-nation sports fest as calendared.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said Vietnamese organizers have asked the members of the SEA Games Federation during its June 24 meeting to wait for another two weeks before a final announcement is made.

Vietnam has completed the infrastructure for the Games ahead of schedule but is bothered by the rising cases of COVID-19 in the country.

Fernandez said 28 NSAs presented suggested financial assistance of P184 million exclusively for training, just P16 million short of the P200-million budget being prepared by the PSC to fund the entire projected expenses of Team Philippines in the Games.

“The PSC won’t be able to finance all of this. We need the NSAs to step up also and look for LGUs (local government units) to help them with the facilities, billeting and food,” said Fernandez.

Team PH is looking at fielding 626 athletes from 39 sports in a bid to defend the overall title it won in 2019 as host.

Aside from the training expenditures of athletes and coaches, the P200-million allocation by the PSC is being earmarked to also cover the airfare, billeting, transportation, health protocols and allowances of the entire delegation during the Games.

Tagaytay City will take care of cycling and chess, Ormoc City has adopted fencing and modern pentathlon, Dumaguete City has embraced archery. INQ