JAKARTA, Indonesia – The likelihood of the Philippines submitting a bid for the hosting of the 2030 Asian Games gets clearer when ranking Filipino sports officials sit down with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) executives Tuesday next week for a briefer on the country’s 30th Southeast Asian Games buildup.
A Daily Tribune source said Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman William “Butch” Ramirez, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Ricky Vargas and Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) executive director Ramon Suzara will meet with the OCA officials on 21 August to discuss the country’s preparation in its hosting of the biennial tourney next year.
Suzara will make a presentation and report on the developments at the Clark Green City in Capas, Tarlac – main hub of the SEA Games.
Ramirez arrived here as early as Thursday morning while Suzara took the evening flight on the same day.
Vargas, meanwhile, is set to arrive Friday evening in time for the opening ceremony at the Gelora Gung Karno Stadium on Saturday night.
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No further details were mentioned but it appears that the country will make a serious bid for the 21st Asian Games in 2030 since the 2022 Asiad is already set in Hangzhou, China and the 2026 edition will be in Nagoya, Japan.
“They will brief the OCA on what’s going on in our SEA Games preparation,” the source said without giving further details so the talks will not be preempted. “It appears that we are also interested in hosting the 2030 Asian Games.”
The last time the country hosted the Asian Games was in 1954 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex with only 18 participating nations.
The country emerged with its best finish ever with 14 gold, 14 silver and 17 bronze medals that year.
Erick Thohir, the Indonesian tycoon who is on top of overall preparation for the 18th Asian Games here, said the country should aim to host the 45-nation tournament with all the infrastructure being built.
He said he’s impressed with PHISGOC’s presentation and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Filipinos try to land the Asian Games hosting in 2030.
“Personally, as partner of the Philippines and now that Indonesia is hosting the Asian Games, I’m really sure that the next stop for the Philippines is the hosting of the Asian Games in 2030,” he said during the SEA Games Federation meeting in Manila last May.
