SPIA Asia set to become an annual event

Joy Chakravarty 11:40 03/10/2015
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Following the stunning success of the inaugural Asia Sports Industry Awards on Friday night in the Philippines capital of Manila, it has been announced that the event will become an annual fixture.

    The Awards night, organised by Sport360 in association with MMC Sportz, saw a full house of guests attend the gala at the New World Makati Hotel, where winners were honoured in 10 different categories.

    The winners ranged from tournaments with multi-million dollar budgets featuring some of the finest athletes in the world, to events with smaller budgets, but made a significant difference to their community.

    – SPIAAsia: Awards kick off with business conference
    – #360business: Bleak figures fail to deter ISL investors
    – #360business: USTA out to catch their competitors
    – #360business: Soccerex – Football’s mass networking

    Since being established in the UAE three years ago, this year’s SPIAs saw sporting facilities, retail stores, CSR leaders and fan engagers in the most innovative of methods step up to the podium.

    Speaking after the event, Didier Brun, Deputy CEO and Publisher of Sport360, said: ‘We could not have been more delighted with the manner in which the event was received.

    “The fact that we got nearly 170 entries in the 10 categories, and that too without making too much noise about it, is fantastic, and then the support and feedback we have got from everyone just goes on to strengthen our belief that there is a crying need for something like the SPIAs in this region.

    “I can confirm that we are going to make Asia SPIA an annual event and we are most probably going to rotate it in various cities. We will make an announcement on the host city of the Asia SPIA 2016 during our SPIAs night in Dubai.”

    At the function, several of the guests and winners made an impassionate plea for Asia SPIAs to become a regular event on the sporting calendar of South East Asia.

    Michael Thorpe, Vice-President Sports Development & Events, Lagardere Sports, walked away with a gold and silver in the ‘Best Live Experience at a Live Event’, one of the biggest awards of the night, for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore and AFF Suzuki Cup.

    After accepting the trophies, Thorpe said: “I really hope the Asia SPIAs are held every year.

    “Our teams have worked incredibly hard for these events, but when you get recognised on an evening like this, it just makes you want to set the bar higher for the next year and forces you to think how you can improve on it.

    “I think the Asia SPIAs are going to be fantastic for the region and it is a concept that is going to be embraced by the sports industry.”

    Chris Robb, whose Spectrum Worldwide won the gold for ‘Best Sports Participation among Amateurs’ for Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore, as well as a silver in the ‘Best Use of Digital Media’, shared Thorpe’s opinion.

    “When you get recognized like this, it sort of validates all the sleepless nights after a hard day’s work. We don’t have anything like this in the region. I think the Asia SPIAs is a fantastic concept and it must stay,” said Robb.

    Among those who got a trophy were Liverpool FC, for their clever use of digital media and the campaign #MyFirstLFCGame in association with Garuda Indonesia when they traveled to the region for their preseason.

    Singha Corporation was honoured during the function for their green initiative, which saw the judicial use of 5,000 cubic metres of water produced by the brewery being treated naturally at Singha Park and used for irrigation of the championship size golf course in Khon Kaen.

    Recommended