MANILA — Delegates from Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean)-member countries kicked off a series of meetings with the holding of the 9th Asean Senior Officials Meeting on Sports (SOMS-9) at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City on Monday.
The Philippines formally assumed chairmanship of the SOMS-9 from past host Myanmar.
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Executive Director Merlita Ibay, who will serve as SOMS-9 chairperson, welcomed and thanked all attendees from Asean member countries — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
She assured that the commitments agreed upon by the Asean countries under the 5-year Asean Work Plan on Sports 2016-2020 will be continued and completed under the Philippines’ chairmanship.
The senior officials seek to strengthen bonds and interaction within the region through sports cooperation throughout the Oct. 6-10 meetings.
The meeting on Monday tackled the preparation for the Joint Bid for the FIFA World Cup 2034 and the need to strengthen coordination with relevant stakeholders in this regard.
In the same meeting, the officials also agreed that Malaysia will host the initial meeting for the establishment of the e-sports federation in the region as proposed by Malaysian Head of Delegation and Director General of the Malaysian National Sports Council Ahmad Shapawi Bin Ismail.
All delegation heads expressed their support for the establishment of the Asean e-sports association.
Meanwhile, PSC Chairman William Ramirez will lead the 5th Asean Ministerial Meetings on Sports as its Chairman on Tuesday (Oct. 8) with the distinction of convening the First Asean plus Japan Meeting on Women and Sports.
