Tokyo Olympics-bound athletes of Team Philippines will get a chance to become instant millionaires.
This is after the MVP Sports Foundation (MVPSF) approved during a board meeting Thursday, July 8 that it will grant a cash reward to 19 Filipino athletes with podium finishes in the Summer Games.
The said group chaired by telecommunications mogul Manny V. Pangilinan will provide a P10 million cash reward to the gold medal winner, P5 million to silver medalist and P2 million to the winner of the bronze medal, which matched the cash incentives given by the government.
“This is the tournament of tournaments,” said Pangilinan after the board meeting attended by other top MVPSF officials including its president Al Panlilio. ”We want to showcase what Filipino talent can do. We want to show the world that we can compete.”
"When MVPSF was formed in 2011 the objective was to win our country’s first Olympic gold and we have a really good chance to win medals in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.”
Panlilio, for his part, said that he knows that the 19 Filipino athletes are all excited to compete against the best in the world. He said that the decision to give rewards is an extra motivation to athletes.
“We know that all of our athletes are eager to represent the Philippines but we wanted to give them added motivation that would help them and their families as well,” said Panlilio.
This cash incentive from the MVPSF will be on top of what the medalists will receive from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) through Republic Act 10699, which will give the same amount for gold-silver-bronze winners in the quadrennial event.
“The MVPSF appreciates the sacrifices from all our athletes. We know it wasn’t easy to train during the pandemic but they still persevered to give Filipinos something to look forward to and be proud of,” said Panlilio.
“We hope the monetary reward we’ve set aside will give them the extra push to really go all out and win the country’s first-ever gold medal in the Olympics. We’ve been waiting for the Olympic gold medal for so long and we know it will inspire the entire nation.”
Of the 19 Filipino athletes in the Tokyo Olympics, 14 are being supported by MVPSF but the reward will be for all medalists.
“All 14 of the athletes we’ve supported have had some form of foreign training,” Pangilinan said. “It tells you something about the preparation that’s really needed by our athletes as part of their training. You cannot just train locally. You really have to expose yourself to international standards of competition and pick up lessons learned.”
“This is certainly a milestone year for us. The delegation we are sending is the best we’ve composed and sent to the Olympics. Of course, we’re hoping that we will continue to have bigger and better contingents to send in the next Olympics. It’s always a journey of improvement and growth.”
“We wish all our athletes godspeed. I hope God blesses their effort for the holy grail of the Olympic gold medal,” he added.
Some of the athletes backed by the MVPSF are boxing’s Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, Irish Magno and Eumir Marcial, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, gymnast Caloy Yulo, pole vault’s EJ Obiena golfers Yuka Saso, Bianca Padganganan, and Juvic Pagunsan.