The Philippine Taekwondo Association experience: Developing a model sport governance and sustainability for national sports associations

• Main Author: Bernardo, Geraldine G.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2019
• Subjects: Sports and state—Philippines; Government aid to sports—Philippines; Tae kwon do—Philippines; Sports Studies
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/13814
• Institution: De La Salle University

Most developing countries rely on government funding to sustain their sports programs. Elite sports development in the country is dependent on the symbiotic coordination between the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC); with the PSC serving as the funding agency of the government and the POC as the mother organization of the NSAs and having the sole authority to recommend athletes for competitions organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Sports funding has remained virtually constant over the years despite the fact that the number of NSAs and athletes have tripled from 18 NSAs in the 1990's to the current 60. Typically, majority of the NSAs are unused to professional management and accountability and remain heavily reliant on the PSC for funding support. Korean national CEO Grandmaster Sung Chon Hong, who heads the PTA, has been instrumental in making taekwondo the number one martial arts in the country. With his strong emphasis on professional development, value co-creation and multi-sectoral governance, the PTA today boasts of more than 1 million registered practitioners nationwide, various revenue streams and consistent podium success. From the PTA experience, this study describes the themes and critical success factors in the evolution towards self-sufficiency of an NSA.