The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Jesse C. Ong
The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) is looking to gather all school-based leagues in Davao City from January 6 to 8 in an effort to discover more athletes for the national team.
Through the event, the government sports agency seeks to propose the merger of the leagues to form a united federation that would provide additional opportunities for national sports associations to find more talents in the provinces.
According to PSC Chairman William Ramirez, no less than President Rodrigo Duterte has been invited as keynote speaker in the consultative meeting where over 2,000 athletic directors from various colleges and universities nationwide are expected to attend.
“We would like to see that they organize themselves into a national university and collegiate sports federation,” Ramirez said, adding that the plan involves the crafting of a unified comprehensive grassroots program that will help NSAs to recruit athletes all over the country.
The PSC chief furthered that key officials from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Athletic Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (Naascu), National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA), State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (Scuaa), Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi), the Davao City Collegiate League (DCCL) and the rest of the school leagues are expected to unite under one roof and form chapters for each region.
Ramirez suggested regional chapters from Mindanao, Visayas, northern and southern Luzon and Metro Manila.
“Some of the leagues don’t need much help because they are well-funded and organized. But there are many other leagues in the country that need the PSC’s help,” he said.
The possible merger among school leagues augurs well for talent discovery programs in the grassroots level such as the Batang Pinoy, Palarong Pambansa and Philippine National Games.