YOUTH SEA GAMES ON THE CARDS?

Multi-sport regional meet for athletes aged 17 and below proposed by the Philippines

- Kimberly Kwek Sports Correspondent

Plans are under way for the introduction of a multi-sport meet for the region’s youth athletes, aimed at helping them prepare for the Asian Youth Games (AYG) and Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

To be called the Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games (SEA Plus YG), the inaugural edition could be staged in Manila in 2028, reported several Philippine media outlets.

The reports said that Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino led the creation of SEA Plus YG, which will be held at least a year before the AYG for athletes aged 17 and under.

The last AYG was held in Bahrain in 2025. After the next edition in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 2029, it will be held every two years, with Cambodia hosting in 2031.

According to the Inquirer.net, Tolentino will be the Games’ founding president, with eight other national Olympic committee presidents of the region - Thai-lJand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Timor-Leste — expressing support.

Tolentino said: “The SEA Plus YG is Southeast Asia’s answer to moulding athletes at the grassroots level, make them competitive at the AYG level and able and capable of winning medals at the YOG.”