Badminton World Federation President Poul-Erik Høyer on Sunday accepted the Gold Award for BWF from SPIA Asia for the ‘Best Global Sports Organization Operating in Asia’.
The award was announced at the 3rd SPIA Asia – Asia’s Sports Industry Awards & Conference in Bangkok on 9 November 2017. Høyer received the prize from Eric M Gottschalk (featured image; right), CEO of MMC Sportz Marketing LLC, organiser of SPIA Asia, at the InterContinental Hotel in Dubai.
BWF won the Gold Award over nine other nominees: International Tennis Federation (UK); International Cricket Council (UAE); Spartan Race (USA); ONE Championship (Singapore); FC Bayern Munich (China); United Arab Emirates Ju Jitsu Federation (UAE); Ultimate Fighting Championship (USA); Global Professional Tennis Coach Association (Switzerland), and Peter Burwash International (USA). Spartan Race won silver, while UFC won bronze.
BWF was also nominated for two other awards. The Dubai World Superseries Finals 2016 was nominated for ‘Best International Sporting Event Sanctioned by an International Federation’, while Shuttle Time Dubai was nominated in the ‘Best Youth Development Program of the Year’ category.
The Awards Gala was held at the end of a two-day conference (6 and 7 November 2017) which was attended by more than 300 delegates and 20 international speakers from various industry sectors. There were 17 Asian and six Thai award categories, and winners were awarded gold, silver and bronze medals for their achievements and contributions to the sports industry over the last 12 months.
The Sports Business Conference, titled ‘The Business of Sports – Asia’s Sports Industry in the Fast Lane III’ – has been held annually since 2015 to celebrate the brands, agencies, marketers and organisations that influence the sporting landscape in Asia. The conference was endorsed and supported by Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Sports Authority Thailand, and the Tourism Authority Thailand.
In the ‘Best Global Sports Organization Operating in Asia’ category, entries were accepted from those sporting bodies that have a presence or reach in at least 15 countries, and with active grassroots programmes, talent development, regular competitions, and with a global fan base. The Awards Committee was composed of selected experts representing various fields of the sporting industry.
“The standard of award submissions and competition has been exceptionally high this year,” said Eric M Gottschalk, CEO of MMC Sportz Marketing LLC, organiser of SPIA Asia – Sports Industry Awards & Conference 2017. “Having started with almost 400 entries, all were subject to a fair and transparent judging process that culminated with thorough appraisals by a panel of 20 experts. In many categories the scoring was extremely close and the bronze, silver and gold winners announced at the SPIA Asia Awards Gala should be very proud of their achievement.”
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