Do sports really have the power to unite people? Judging by the way Filipinos reacted through the years every time our athletes competed in international competitions, I would say it’s true. 

Last June 21, members of media and other guests witnessed not just a sendoff for our 2024 Paris Olympics-bound athletes but also the partnership that was forged by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and Allianz PNB Life in support of the Philippine team that will compete in the City of Light from July 26 to Aug. 11.

“We are trying to help our athletes who qualified [for the Olympics and Paralympics] and it’s good to see that even the private sector and the government with Allianz are supporting our athletes,” PSC Chairman Richard Bachmann told Coverstory.ph. 

The PSC, he said, wanted the athletes to focus on their training. Funding for the Olympics and the Paralympics comes 100% from the PSC, he pointed out.

All requests of national sports associations that are qualified for the Olympics and Paralympics, including equipment and training abroad, are being funded by the commission, Bachmann said. “We are also trying to improve facilities and dormitories for our athletes moving forward, and even after the Olympics.”

Beyond the brand

Joseph Gross, Allianz PNB Life president and CEO, said that when the insurance company works with partners like the PSC and the athletes, it looks at how it can add value to the lives of these partners.

“I don’t believe in just putting on a logo. That’s branding. That’s meaningless. It’s okay but that’s not what we as a company is about,” he said.

Citing Bachmann, Gross said the life of an athlete is end to end. “You start, you train, you build your career and you’re hopefully very successful, but at some point in time all of us know that a career’s over.”

When this comes, he said it should not make the athlete dread about the next chapter of his or her life. “This is just the start of a journey that we are going to do because yes, we support the athletes, yes, we work with foundations, etc., but I’d like to go much more with the direction that Chairman Bachmann said on how we can work with athletes.” 

That could start by employing the athletes early, training them, and helping them succeed—a gain for both Allianz and the athletes, he said.

Allianz also works with Henry V. Moran Foundation, a nonprofit established in 2009 to help the poor through community development, education, and livelihood, as part of the foundation’s futsal for development program for young children. 

“This has helped get them off the streets and do something reasonable like financial literacy and life values,” Gross said.

Among other projects, Allianz is opening up a partnership with volleyball star Alyssa Valdez, who is planning to put up a volleyball foundation aimed at bringing the sport to young Filipino women and helping them get off the streets, develop a strong personality and build a career of their own. 

Send-off

The athletes who came for the send-off event were boxers Hergie Bacyadan, and Olympic silver medalists Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam who will both be the Philippine flag-bearers in the Paris Olympics; and weightlifters John Ceniza, Elreen Ando, and Vanessa Sarno.

The country’s para-athletes led by swimmers Angel Otum and Ernie Gawilan, thrower Cendy Asusano, wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan, and archer Agustina Bantiloc, were loudly cheered when they were introduced and asked to share their experiences. The 2024 Paris Paralympics will be held from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.

When asked about the chances of our athletes to win a medal, Bachmann said: “Right now, for all the athletes who qualified, I will support them and expect [them] to win … all sports. I don’t want to pick what sport, but again we will back them up 100 percent. Just the athlete qualifying already for the Olympics is huge. And it’s a blessing, an icing on the cake, if they bring home a medal.” 

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz gave the Philippines its first Olympic gold medal in 2020 in Tokyo, showing Filipinos that this was doable.

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