MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) officially launched the Southeast Asian (SEA) Plus Youth Games on Saturday, with the Philippines set to host the inaugural edition from December 2 to 14, 2027.
The historic event is designed for athletes aged 16 and below and aims to bridge the gap between grassroots competitions and major international tournaments.
POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said the idea for the games came to him during the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain, where he realized young athletes needed another level of competition before moving on to the continental stage.
“I thought about this during the Bahrain Asian Youth Games. After Palarong Pambansa and Batang Pinoy, our young athletes go straight to the Asian Youth Games. It felt like there should be another stage,” Tolentino said.
“That’s why we came up with the Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games.”
Unlike the traditional Southeast Asian competitions, the SEAPYG will feature 23 participating nations by inviting countries from Central and East Asia to raise the level of competition.
The Southeast Asian contingent includes the Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. Joining them are Bahrain, Bhutan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Macau, Nepal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Turkmenistan.
FIVB executive vice president and Asian Volleyball Confederation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara was named CEO and president of the games.
Suzara vowed to organize the tournament according to international standards, with competitions spread across four clusters and 23 sports.
“My role is to make sure we deliver the games to international standards. With 23 sports and four clusters, I believe we can stage an event that is at par with the best international competitions,” Suzara said.
He also highlighted the collaboration with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to maximize and further upgrade world-class venues, including the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and PhilSports Arena.
The proposed sports program includes mandatory events such as aquatics and athletics; Olympic sports including triathlon, judo, boxing, golf, taekwondo, skateboarding, wrestling, fencing, basketball, tennis, and gymnastics; non-Olympic sports like jiu-jitsu, billiards, dancesport, and mixed martial arts; as well as the traditional Filipino martial art, arnis.
