Sports in the Philippines

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Sports in the Philippines is an important part of the country's culture. There are six major sports in the

Administration

The governing agency for sports in the Philippines is the Philippine Sports Commission which was created in 1990^[2] while the Games and Amusements Board is the government's regulatory body for professional sports in the country.^[3]

The

.

There are also other alternative sporting bodies such as the Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines which claims to be the sole governing body for university sports in the country and participates in International University Sports Federation (FISU) sanctioned tournaments.

Summary by discipline

Traditional sports

The Philippines has numerous traditional sports that were popular before the colonial era and after the colonial era. Among these are archery, arnis, horse-riding, fling sports, wrestling sports, dart sports, track sports, and traditional martial arts.

With the

Arnis is officially recognized as a national sport as per Republic Act No. 9850 of 2009.^[8]

Individual sports

Boxing

The Philippines has produced more than 40 boxing world champions such as

.

Boxing is among the most popular individual sports in the Philippines. Some Filipino boxers such as

in the country.

The Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (formerly Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines) (ABAP) is the governing body of amateur boxing in the Philippines. The ABAP's current goal is for the country to win its first ever Olympic gold medal in boxing, to be recognized as one of the world's boxing powers as well as to improve the image of the Philippines abroad.

The country continually produces talented fighters, often in the junior featherweight division (122 pounds and below).

sanctions amateur (Olympic-style) boxing matches which allows the national amateur boxing athletes of the Philippines to represent the country and compete in regional, continental and international matches and tournaments. The Philippines has currently two silver and three bronze Olympic medals.

Figure skating

Ice skating rinks used as venues for figure skating are limited to shopping malls in the country, particularly in the

Team sports

Sport	National team	Nickname
Baseball	Philippines national baseball team	None
	Philippines women's national baseball team
Basketball	Philippines men's national basketball team	Gilas Pilipinas
	Philippines women's national basketball team
Cricket	Philippines national cricket team	Carabaos
	Philippines women's national cricket team	None
Floorball	Philippines men's national floorball team	None
	Philippines women's national floorball team
Football	Philippines national football team	None
	Philippines women's national football team	The Filipinas
Ice hockey	Philippines men's national ice hockey team	None
	Philippines women's national ice hockey team
Rugby league	Philippines national rugby league team	Tamaraws
	Philippines women's national rugby league team	Sampaguitas
Rugby sevens	Philippines national rugby sevens team	Volcanoes
	Philippines women's national rugby sevens team
Rugby union	Philippines national rugby union team
	Philippines women's national rugby union team
Softball	Philippines men's national softball team	Blu Boys
	Philippines women's national softball team	Blu Girls
Volleyball	Philippines men's national volleyball team	None
	Philippines women's national volleyball team
Water polo	Philippines men's national water polo team	None
	Philippines women's national water polo team

Basketball

Smart Araneta Coliseum

Basketball was introduced in the country during the

.

The Philippine Basketball Association is the oldest league in Asia and is the top basketball league in the country. Other rival or smaller leagues in the country are organized. There are college basketball leagues and competitions such as the Philippine Collegiate Championship. Basketball matches of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines and the National Collegiate Athletic Association also receives attention.

The country also has a women's basketball team which has competed at the

national teams.

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (Basketball Federation of the Philippines) is the national sport association of basketball in the Philippines.

Association football

men's national team of the Philippines played their earlier matches prior to World War II against China and Japan at the Far Eastern Championship Games.They experience a decline after that period but has since recovered following their stint at the 2010 AFF Championship. The country also organizes a women's national team which has qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023

.

The Philippines Football League is the top flight football league in the country. Each club represents their respective cities or provinces and required to have a youth squad for the Youth League. It also helps to promote football awareness and grassroots program to the young Filipino footballers who admire to play professional football.

The Philippine Football Federation is the governing body for football in the country.

Volleyball

Main article: Volleyball in the Philippines

The NSA affiliated with the sport is called the

University Athletic Association of the Philippines and the National Collegiate Athletic Association

amateur tournaments.

Internationally, competitors are given the opportunity to represent the country in tournaments such as the Southeast Asian Games as well as the Olympics.

The sport has also seen the development of leagues such as the Philippine Super Liga, Spikers' Turf and the Premier Volleyball League.

American football

Philippine-American Football League was founded. The Philippines also organizes a men's national team

.

Baseball

See also: Baseball in the Philippines

Baseball was introduced in the Philippines by the Americans. The first baseball game in the Philippines was played in September 1898 weeks after the Battle of Manila, a match between Astor Battery led by George Wetlaufer and a regiment from the American Army. From 1899 to 1900, baseball clubs were established by local Filipinos. The sport's introduction aided the American colonial government's assimilation efforts. General Otis planned to eliminate local cockfighting through the introduction of the sport. A baseball league composing of six clubs was established. Then, Governor General William Howard Taft encouraged baseball in the archipelago. Baseball grew to be a popular sport in the country. The national team is Philippines national baseball team and the governing body is PABA

Rugby league

Philippines National Rugby League are the governing body and are responsible for the growth of rugby league in the Philippines. The sport was introduced to the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy by Australian expats.^[12][13] Clubs have also been established by Papua New Guinean expats and students (where rugby league is their national sport).^[14][15][16]

The national team are known as the Tamaraws and represents the country in international rugby league competition.

Rugby union

Main article: Rugby union in the Philippines

The

Asian Sevens Series

.

Sports leagues

The following are the main domestic leagues (or de facto top-flight leagues) in the Philippines.

League	Sport	Gender	No. of Teams
Professional Chess Association of the Philippines	Chess	Mixed	20
Philippine Basketball Association	Basketball	Men	12
Women's National Basketball League	Basketball	Women	5
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League Philippines	Esports	Men	8
Philippines Football League	Football	Men	15
PFF Women's League	Football	Women	10
Premier Volleyball League	Volleyball	Women	11
Spikers' Turf	Volleyball	Men	11

International sports participation

See also: List of international sports events in the Philippines

Olympics and Paralympics

Main articles: Philippines at the Olympics and Philippines at the Paralympics

The Philippines has participated in all editions of the Olympics except in

Winter Olympics, debuting at the 1972 edition and has participated in three other edition of the winter games.^[19]

The Philippines has also participated in the

Winter Paralympics

.

The country won its first

Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics through weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz.^[20]

All time medal count

Event	Appearances	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Rank
Summer Olympic Games	22	1	5	8	14	94th
Winter Olympic Games	5	0	0	0	0	-
Summer Paralympic Games	7	0	0	2	2	117th
Summer Youth Olympic Games	3	0	1	0	1	100th
Winter Youth Olympic Games	2	0	0	0	0	-

Domestic multi-sport competitions

The Philippine government organizes multiple national games.

• Philippine National Games – open national games sanctioned by the Philippine Sports Commission
• Palarong Pambansa – national games for student-athletes under the Department of Education
• Batang Pinoy (Philippine Youth Games) – national games for youth, 15 years and under.

See also

• Department of Sports (Philippines)
• Philippines at the Southeast Asian Games
• Project Gintong Alay
• Bodybuilding in the Philippines
• Horseracing in the Philippines
• Volleyball in the Philippines

Notes

References

1. ^ "Metro Manila · Basketball – the Philippines' most popular sport". Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
2. ^ "PSC Profile". Philippine Sports Commission. June 22, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
3. ^ "Games and Amusements Board". Games and Amusements Board. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
4. ^ Bomb hits Philippines cock-fight – BBC – April 14, 2012
5. ^ "Using Spirit Worship to Infuse Southeast Asia into the K-16 Classroom". Tun Institute of Learning. January 15, 2005. Archived from the original on December 3, 2012.
6. ^ A Panorama of Indian Culture: Professor A. Sreedhara Menon Felicitation Volume – K. K. Kusuman – Mittal Publications, 1990 – p.130"[1]"
7. ^ A Panorama of Indian Culture: Professor A. Sreedhara Menon Felicitation Volume – K. K. Kusuman – Mittal Publications, 1990 – p.127-128"[2]"
8. ^ Republic Act No. 9850, Chan Robles Law Library.
9. ^ Aquino, Tricia (February 17, 2014). "ICE RINKS IN THE PHILIPPINES? | Before Michael Christian Martinez, SM's Henry Sy had one crazy dream". InterAksyon.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
10. ^ "Manila on ice: YOG athlete Michael Christian Martinez creates history for the Philippines". Youth Olympic Games News. Olympics.org. February 15, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
11. ^ Ochosa, Mike (October 21, 2015). "The future is bright for Philippine women's volleyball". Rappler. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
12. ^ PCG, Sydney. "FILIPINO-AUSTRALIAN WINS X-FACTOR AUSTRALIA 2015" (PDF). www.philippineconsulate.com.au.
13. ^ "2014 Rugby League 4 Nations: To be, or not to be? – 2014 Four Nations – Rugby League Tri / Four Nations News". www.rugbyleagueplanet.com.
14. ^ "PNG coached Manila league team set for first match – Loop PNG". looppng.com. October 18, 2015.
15. ^ http://www.emtv.com.pg/article.aspx?slug=Batanga-Warriors-PNG-Rugby-League-in-Philippines&subcategory=Sports^{[permanent dead link]}
16. ^ "All eyes on Westpac for Rugby League Four Nations final – 2014 Four Nations – Rugby League Tri / Four Nations News". www.rugbyleagueplanet.com.
17. ISBN 978-1-4422-4860-1
    . Retrieved July 27, 2020.
18. ^ United States Department of State Bureau of African Affairs (1980). AF Press Clips. p. 24. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
19. ^ "The Games of the VIII Olympiad: Official Report (part 1, page 91)" (PDF). la84foundation.org (in French). French Olympic Committee. July 28, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 5, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
20. ^ "Olympics latest: Hidilyn Diaz wins Philippines' first-ever gold medal". Nikkei Asia. July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.