Camille Naredo

POC President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino at the SEAPYG Executive Council Meeting, July 11, 2026 at Solaire in Parañaque City. POC Media


Article (news)

Paige Javier

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783757089935viber_image_2026-07-11_15-50-39-138.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="POC President Abraham &quot;Bambol&quot; Tolentino at the SEAPYG Executive Council Meeting, July 11, 2026 at Solaire in Parañaque City. POC Media"/>POC President Abraham &quot;Bambol&quot; Tolentino at the SEAPYG Executive Council Meeting, July 11, 2026 at Solaire in Parañaque City. POC Media</div>MANILA – The Philippines officially hit the ground running for its hosting of the 1st Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games (SEAPYG) 2027, as the executive council convened in a meeting in Parañaque City on Saturday.  The Philippines will be hosting the inaugural SEAPYG in December 2027, three months before the 2028 Asian Beach Games.Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham &quot;Bambol&quot; Tolentino, the founding president of SEAPYG, presided over the meeting attended by regional officials and key sports leaders.Representatives from the 11 founding member nations as well as some officials from the 17 invited Asian nations like Bahrain, Bhutan, Kuwait, Maldives, Nepal, Chinese-Taipei and Sri Lanka were in attendance at the meeting.<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/3/9/southeast-asian-plus-youth-games-set-for-december-2027-1826"> </a><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/3/9/southeast-asian-plus-youth-games-set-for-december-2027-1826">Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games set for December 2027 </a> </div>During the meeting, each nation present expressed support for the inaugural SEAPYG.&quot;Nagpapasalamat tayo sa lahat ng um-attend, sa lahat ng nag-participate dito sa first council meeting ng SEAPYG for next year. Sinabi ko nga, we&#x27;re praying na lahat ng um-attend mag-participate. Lahat din, yung ibang hindi um-attend mag-participate din,&quot; Tolentino told reporters after the event.  &quot;Positive naman, I think they will. So this will be a very good start and exciting for the country, for the youth, lahat nandito na,&quot; he added. SEAPYG is a regional tournament for athletes 16 years old and below, which will be composed of at least 20 sports, featuring athletics and aquatics as mandatory sports.The council hopes to finalize the list of sports, which includes Olympic sports and non-Olympic sports, within the next two months. &quot;Of course my role here as President-CEO is to make sure we deliver the games with international standards. I think with 23 supports and 4 clusters, we will be able to deliver at par with international standards and different sports,&quot; Asian Volleyball Confederation President Ramon &quot;Tats&quot; Suzara said.Suzara has been designated as Local Organizing Committee President and CEO.The four proposed clusters for venues include Manila, Pasig, Subic and Tagaytay, where existing Philippine Sports commission facilities are located.   Proposed venues include the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, the PhilSports Arena and Oval, the new SMX Convention Center in Pasay, the Midlands Golf Tagaytay, Subic Bay Freeport, and the Tagaytay Skate Park.&quot;The main objective also is to use the PSC sports facilities. It&#x27;s one of the highlights of [PSC] Chairman Pato [Gregorio] and commissioner Bong [Coo] here is to use the world-class facilities of the Rizal Memorial Complex and the PhilSports Arena... this also make it more meaningful to upgrade the facilities,&quot; Suzara explained. <div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/7/4/former-seag-champion-looks-to-build-world-class-rowing-team-from-cauayan-1632">Former SEAG champion looks to build world-class rowing team from Cauayan</a></div>The POC and the Philippine Sports Commission have a &#x27;strong partnership and agreement&#x27; in the country&#x27;s hosting of the multi-sport event, especially with logistics.&quot;The Philippine Sports Commission will also be supportive. Definitely yung mga venues na gagamitin nila,&quot; PSC Commissioner Bong Coo said. The POC chief discussed how he conceptualized the Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games back in 2025.&quot;16 years old and below. Naisip ko yan nung ba rin Asian Youth Games. So Asian Youth Games pagkunta ng Youth Games. Parang kulang. Pagdating ng school, diretso ka na sa Asian Games? Sina Palarong Pambansa, sina Batang Pinoy diretso na sa Asian Games. Parang may kulang,&quot; Tolentino said. &quot;So ito yun. Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games. Bakit plus? Para yung non-ASEAN, non-Southeast Asian may sama natin para mas marami, mas maganda, competitive. Mas marami pa nga yung plus kaysa sa original na SEA,&quot; he explained.Tolentino said the country&#x27;s hosting of another major sporting event is in line with the government&#x27;s push to boost sports tourism.&quot;Itong SEAPYG kasi 16 years old and below. So ang challenge natin may nagtanong nga yung immigration, visa and everything. So different countries, different ano yan eh allowed ba mag-travel with companion, different visa. Ganun din sa atin. We will coordinate with those different countries,&quot; he said. &quot;Kaya nga sabi ko, tourism-wise, definitely, ang laki ng boost niyan. Kung may anak silang lalaro, siyempre sasama yung magulang, di ba? May plus factor yan. Package yan,” the POC chief shared.The 2027 Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games are set for December 2 to 14, 2027.

The Philippines officially hit the ground running for its hosting of the 1st Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games (SEAPYG) 2027, as the executive council convened in a meeting in Parañaque City on Saturday.

The Philippines officially hit the ground running for its hosting of the 1st Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games (SEAPYG) 2027, as the executive council convened in a meeting in Parañaque City on Saturday.

POC chief sees positive start after first meeting for Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games

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POC chief sees positive start after first meeting for Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games

Paige Javier,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 11, 2026 04:10 PM PHT

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Updated July 11, 2026 04:11 PM PHT

Read More:

Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games

SEAPYG

Philippine Olympic Committee

Philippine Sports Commission

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