IN PICS: The 2016 SPIA Asia award winners

Jaideep Marar 23:39 10/10/2016

For any sport or athlete to succeed a strong fan base is hugely important and this fact was highlighted during the Sports Industry Awards [SPIA] Asia 2016 in Bangkok recently where the top accolades were reserved for those who reached out to fans in a big way.

Be it Liverpool FC [three awards], iProspect Philippines [two] or Asian Football Confederation, all were unanimous in emphasising the key role played by fans in their triumph.

“I actually didn’t realise how big a football club Liverpool was until I touched down in Thailand for our pre-season tour in 2015 and saw thousands of Thai fans,” admits Mark Rollings, Senior Partnerships Manager of the club.

The Reds and main sponsor Standard Chartered Bank claimed two accolades, including Gold in the Best Sponsorship of a Sport, Team or Event of the Year category, and Silver for the Best Sports Marketing Campaign of the Year. The club, alongside partner MG China, also walked away with Silver in the Best Sports Brand, Retail Activation or Product Launch of the Year segment.

“The fans from this part of the world are unbelievable. We are going to come back this summer for one of our tours. I know for a fact that the club loves coming over to Asia. Hopefully it will result in some more awards next year,” Rollings added.

Organised by Sport360 and MMC Sportz, in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports Thailand and the Sports Authority of Thailand, SPIA Asia 2016 awards were also preceded by a two-day conference where experts held panel discussions and made presentations on the latest trends in the sports industry.

Over 300 sports professionals from the region packed the Centara Grand ballroom during the glittering awards gala where Asian powerhouses such as Toyota, Singha, Shell, AFC, WTA, IMG and Lagardere emerging successful in key categories.

Recommended