Camille Naredo

POC President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino. POC Media


POC President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino.

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ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- The Philippines is set to host two major international events in late 2027 and early 2028, the Philippine Olympic Committee revealed on Saturday. A day after announcing Manila&#x27;s hosting of the inaugural Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games, POC President Abraham &quot;Bambol&quot; Tolentino said that the Asian Beach Games (ABG) will also take place in the country.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/2026/1/1/manila-to-host-inaugural-sea-plus-youth-games-in-2028-1711">READ: Manila to host inaugural SEA Plus Youth Games in 2028</a></div>After email correspondence and phone calls with Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) brass, the country will be hosting the SEA Plus YG in late 2027, instead of early 2028, according to Tolentino.The ABG, the POC chief said, will be in early 2028 but withheld announcing the venue.&quot;The Asian Beach Games will have its third edition this April in Sanya [China] so it will be two years after when we host the games in 2028,&quot; Tolentino said.He said that the two international hosting chores run in consonance with the Philippine Sports Commission&#x27;s (PSC)—through its chairman, Patrick &quot;Patò&quot; Gregorio—intensified sports tourism campaign.&quot;We will submit both letters [of intent] to the OCA before its General Assembly  later this month in Tashkent,&quot; Tolentino said. &quot;It&#x27;s a mere formality. After getting the official approval from the OCA, we&#x27;ll immediately be proposing to the PSC on hosting both events.&quot;Tashkent is hosting the important OCA activity that will also tackle Uzbekistan&#x27;s hosting of the 2029 AYG.The POC and PSC are on the same page on the sports tourism campaign with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. setting into motion last year the multi-pronged National Sports Tourism Inter-Agency Committee (NST-IAC), which Gregorio heads.These coming international events fit well with the goal of the NST-IAC and we at the POC are remaining pro-active on these efforts,&quot; said Tolentino, also the president of the national federation for cycling, PhilCycling, which is hosting the Asian Cycling Confederation Track Championships in March at the brand-new and International Cycling Union-standard Tagaytay CT Velodrome.Tolentino said expectations are high for Filipino athletes&#x27; participation at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics next month as well as at the Sanya ABG set April 22 to 30.Also on the POC calendar are the Nagoya Asian Games in September and the Jeddah Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.The SEA Plus YG are designed for athletes aged 17 and under who will compete in two mandatory sports, a maximum of 12 Olympic sports, maximum of five Asian non-Olympic sports and one traditional sport with up to six medal events.Tolentino is the founding president of the SEA Plus YG which counts Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Timor Leste as members.The &quot;Plus&quot; refers to at least one invited Asian NOC in other Asian sub-region for each edition of the Games for the purpose of providing added competition for the region&#x27;s grassroots.

The Philippines is set to host two major international events in late 2027 and early 2028, the Philippine Olympic Committee revealed on Saturday.

The Philippines is set to host two major international events in late 2027 and early 2028, the Philippine Olympic Committee revealed on Saturday.

PH in line to host two major international events, says POC chief

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PH in line to host two major international events, says POC chief

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 03, 2026 01:23 PM PHT

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Philippine Olympic Committee

POC

Bambol Tolentino

Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games

Asian Beach Games

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