Sports in the Philippines
Sports in the Philippines is an important part of the country’s culture. There are seven major
sports in the Philippines: basketball, badminton, boxing, football, billiards, tennis and volleyball.
Despite being a tropical nation, ice skating has recently become a popular sport in the
Philippines. Sports such as athletics, weightlifting, aerobics, and martial arts are also popular
recreations.
Among other sports are baseball, bowling, swimming, taekwondo, wrestling, underwater diving,
American football, kayaking, sailing, windsurfing, cockfighting, horse racing, cricket, rugby
football, motor racing, sepak takraw, and jai alai are also appreciated.
With the sport of cockfighting being wildly popular in the Philippines, attracting large crowds
who bet on the outcome of fights between the birds, and the sport itself a popular form of
fertility worship among almost all Southeast Asians. Such sports activity as the sport of
cockfighting, related to ritual forms of worship as practices and rituals of ancient worship
intended for the blessings of the supernatural, as “in Indus Valley and other ancient
civilizations, mother goddess had been invoked for fertility and prosperity” which included that
religious cockfight lay as a prime example of “cultural synthesis of ‘little’ and ‘great’ cultures”
On July 27, 2009, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Republic Act No. 9850 into law,
declaring Arnis as the Philippine National Martial Art and Sport.
Sports remain a popular aspect of Philippine culture. As such, the country’s government has
had several attempts at improving its athletics program through various Republic Acts and
Senate Bills, however, implementation of such laws have been put aside by many local
governments so they can focus more on poverty alleviation. Meanwhile, each sporting
community hosts/joins both local and international tournaments with the purpose of building
itself and/or gauging itself against its peers. There have been a campaign to mandate the
government to give free aid to Filipino athletes in preparation and participation in international
sports events.
The country has received at least five (Summer and Winter) Olympic bronze medals in only
three sports since the 1920s: swimming, boxing, and weightlifting. Plans are ongoing to
prioritize the welfare of athletes in the country to improve the Olympic rating of the Philippines.
The re-establishment of the now defunct Department of Sports (Philippines) or the inclusion of
the Sports Commission under the proposed Department of Culture have been subject for
debate.
Olympics and Paralympics
The Philippines has participated in all editions of the Olympics except in 1980 when it joined the
American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. The country is also the first tropical nation
to participate at the Winter Olympics, debuting at the 1972 edition and has participated in three
other edition of the winter games. Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) is the National Olympic
Committee of the Philippines.
The Philippines has also participated in the Summer Paralympics although it has still to make its
debut in the Winter Paralympics. The Paralympic Committee of the Philippines is National
Paralympic Committee of the country.
Summary by discipline
Traditional sports
The Philippines has numerous traditional sports that were popular before the colonial era and
after the colonial era. Among these are archery, arnis, horse-riding, fling sports, wrestling
sports, dart sports, track sports, and traditional martial arts.
Individual sports
Boxing
The Philippines has produced one of the most number of boxing champions in the world such
as Francisco Guilledo (Pancho Villa), Ceferino Garcia, Nonito Donaire (The Filipino Flash) and
Manny Pacquiao (Pacman).
Boxing is among the most popular individual sports in the Philippines. Some Filipino boxers
such as Manny Pacquiao, Gabriel Elorde and Pancho Villa are recognized internationally. The
Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines is the governing body for amateur boxing in the
country.
The Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (formerly Amateur Boxing Association of
the Philippines) (ABAP) is the governing body of amateur boxing in the Philippines. The ABAP’s
current goal is for the country to win its first ever Olympic gold medal in boxing, to be
recognized as one of the world’s boxing powers as well as to improve the image of the
Philippines abroad.
The country continually produces talented fighters, often in the junior featherweight division
(122 pounds and below). The International Boxing Association sanctions amateur (Olympic-
style) boxing matches which allows the national amateur boxing athletes of the Philippines to
represent the country and compete in regional, continental and international matches and
tournaments. The Philippines has currently two silver and three bronze Olympic medals.
Figure skating
Ice skating rinks used as venues for figure skating are limited to shopping malls in the country,
particularly in the Metro Manila area. The first ice skating rink in the country was opened in
1992 at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong. The first Olympic sized ice skating rink was opened at
the SM Mall of Asia. An ice skating rink also operates in SM Southmall. There are more figure
skating coaches in the Philippines than ice hockey coaches and the first Filipino ice skating
coaches were roller skaters. The Philippine Championship is a national competitive for ice
skating in which the winner gets to represent the country in international competitions. The
Philippines has also managed to qualify and send a figure skater to the 2014 Winter Olympics
becoming the first Southeast Asian country to do so at the Winter Olympics. The said figure
skater was Michael Christian Martinez.
Team sports
American football
American football is a relatively new sport to the Philippines. ArenaBall Philippines was the first
league and lasted from 2009 to 2015. In 2016 the Philippine-American Football League was
founded.
The Philippines also organizes a men’s national team.
Famous Filipino players to have played in the National Football League in the United States
include Eugene Amano, Tim Tebow, Roman Gabriel, Tedy Bruschi, Chris Gocong, Steve Slaton,
Aaron Francisco, Jordan Dizon, and Doug Baldwin.
Association football
Football in the country dates back in the 1890s. The men’s national team of the Philippines
played their earlier matches prior to World War II against China and Japan at the Far Eastern
Championship Games.They experience a decline after that period but has since recovered
following their stint at the 2010 AFF Championship.The country also organizes a women’s
national team which has competed at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
The Philippines Football League is the top flight football league in the country. Each club
represents their respective cities or provinces and required to have a youth squad for the Youth
League. It also helps to promote football awareness and grassroots program to the young
Filipino footballers who admire to play professional football.
The Philippine Football Federation is the governing body for football in the country.
Basketball
Basketball was introduced in the country during the American colonial era and is one of the
sports contested at the now defunct Far Eastern Championship Games. The men’s national
team has competed in the Summer Olympics making their debut in 1936 although they have
been absent in the recent editions of the Games.They have also competed in the FIBA World
Cup with the country hosting the tournament when it was still known as the FIBA World
Championships in 1978.Their third-place finish in the 1954 edition was their best performance
in the tournament, they will host the 2023 edition with Japan and Indonesia.
The Philippine Basketball Association is the oldest league in Asia and is the top basketball
league in the country. Other rival or smaller leagues in the country are organized. College
basketball leagues and competitions such as the Philippine Collegiate Championship.
Basketball matches of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines and the National
Collegiate Athletic Association also receives attention.
The country also has a women’s basketball team which has competed at the FIBA Asia Women’s
Championship, as well as men youth team’s and 3×3 national teams.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (Basketball Federation of the Philippines) is the national
sport association of basketball in the Philippines.
Rugby league
Rugby league was first played in the Philippines in 2012. The Philippines National Rugby League
are the governing body and are responsible for the growth of rugby league in the Philippines.
The sport was introduced to the Philippine Merchant Marine Academys by Australian expats.
Clubs have also been established by Papua New Guinean expats and students (where rugby
league is their national sport).
The national team are known as the Tamaraws and represents the country in international
rugby league competition.
Rugby union
The Philippine Rugby Football Union was founded in 1998 and is the governing body of rugby
union in the Philippines. There are currently around 12 schools playing rugby union in the
Philippines and 10 teams that compete in regular competition. The national team is known as
the Volcanoes and competes in the Asia Rugby Championship and the Asian Sevens Series.
Volleyball
The NSA affiliated with the sport is called the Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas. Women’s volleyball
currently enjoys immense popularity primarily due to its growing fan base in the University
Athletic Association of the Philippines and the National Collegiate Athletic Association amateur
tournaments.
Internationally, competitors are given the opportunity to represent the country in tournaments
such as the Southeast Asian Games as well as the Olympics.
The sport has also seen the development of semi-professional leagues such as the Philippine
Super Liga and the Premier Volleyball League.
Sports leagues in the Philippines
Basketball
Philippine Basketball Association
PBA Developmental League
ASEAN Basketball League
Volleyball
Philippine Super Liga
Premier Volleyball League
Football
Philippines Football League
PFF Women’s League
Baseball
Baseball Philippines
American football
Philippine-American Football League
Ice hockey
Manila Ice Hockey League
Corruption and mismanagement
Graft and corruption are major issues in the Philippine sports industry. Graham Lim, a former
secretary general of the Basketball Association of the Philippines, a former POC-recognized
national federation for basketball, said in a The Manila Times article that politics and monopoly
in Philippine sports started when the present leaders, including Peping Cojuangco, the current
Philippine Olympic Committee president and his golfer-friend Richie Garcia, the chairman of the
Philippine Sports Commission, took over the control of the sporting sector in 2005 that made
Philippine athletes to suffer decline and deterioration on their high-caliber quality due to
corruption and politicking. In 2009, Lim was arrested and later declared an “undesirable alien”
by the Department of Justice due to countless deportation cases, in connection with his
questionable citizenship, said that the deportation order is issued because the pressure pushed
by his arch-rivals Manny V. Pangilinan, the head of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the
later-recognized NSA for basketball and Cojuangco.
Lim also exposed a top government official, through a deputy has asked 6 million pesos to
settle the case, also he claims that several NSAs (National Sports Associations) are headed by
some people who have “toe the line” to Cojuangco and anyone who do not follow his orders
would be dismissed “by hook or by crook”. An NSA also questioned the appointment of
Cojuangco’s daughter Mikee as the representative of the Philippines in the International
Olympic Committee without any caution. Former Senator Nikki Coseteng also noted that the
suffrage of the athletes was emerged due to lack of foreign exposures and depleted training
program as a result on sports bodies’ insufficient budget and incompetent sports officials.
Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, the former Table Tennis Association of the Philippines president
filed a graft and corruption case against Cojuangco and Garcia in 2012 due to issuance of
checks and releasing of funds of PSC to the group of Ting Ledesma who have claimed as TATAP
officials despite a court case filed by Manila Regional Title Court on the legitimacy of TATAP
officials.
A column by Jarius Bondoc in the Philippine Star dated March 2, 2016, reported that more than
1 billion pesos of earnings from casinos that supposed to fund the sports development
program of the PSC by the First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corporation, have been diverted
into the account of former Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima from 2012 to 2015.
In March 2015, Edgardo Cantada, brother of prominent broadcaster Joe Cantada and president
of the now-unrecognized by the POC, Philippine Volleyball Federation, also questioned
Cojuangco on the removal of the body into the local olympic commission, and replaced by
another formed NSA by Cojuangco, Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas. Cantada pointed three
reasons that POC is under dictatorship: worsening campaign for the national teams in
international tourneys, including the Southeast Asian Games, NSAs in turmoil against POC are
involved and the negligence and corruption issues between Cojuangco’s favorite national sports
associations.
Source from Wikipedia
