THE rise of the Filipinas has underlined the importance of having a generous sponsor to achieve international success.
In the case of the national women’s football team, credit goes to Filipino entrepreneur Jeff Cheng, who has bankrolled the Alen Stajcic-coached squad in its dream run the last few years, highlighted by a historic World Cup appearance and victory.
One entity shares the same vision and has been willingly spending to support other sports in the country.
Allianz, a multinational insurance company based in Germany, has been steadily establishing a foothold in the Philippines through its partnerships in volleyball and athletics stars.
Who Allianz supports in PH sports
Through Allianz PNB Life, the company has been supporting volleyball superstar Alyssa Valdez and world No. 2 pole vaulter EJ Obiena for two years now.
Now also a partner of Valdez’s Premier Volleyball League club, Creamline, Allianz is also set to add the Cool Smashers’ sister team Choco Mucho to its stable.
Supporting top athletes and clubs is nothing new for Allianz, which has been a partner of Bayern Munich, the most successful football club in Germany, for two decades now, recently extending their partnership for another 10 years.
Allianz brandished its partnership with Bayern when the company treated over 300 top-performing agents from branches across Southeast Asia to an all-expenses paid trip to Singapore to watch the Bundesliga champion’s 4-3 win against Premier League side Liverpool FC in a friendly last week.
Marielle Benitez-Javellana, a former national football player, covered the exhibition as a representative of One Sports where she is an analyst.
And the former captain of the national team, then fondly known as the Malditas, can only hope the company’s support will spill over to football.
“As a football enthusiast, knowing that Allianz, a proud supporter of FC Bayern, a Bundesliga team, has taken steps in supporting and increasing their presence in Philippine sports, I look forward to seeing them develop the sport of football, by providing opportunities for the athletes to hone their skills and compete at the highest possible level,” she said.
“Through their support, they will surely help local talents pave their way for a brighter future, not only in their sports career but in life in general,” added Benitez, who’s also the Campus Life head at Philippine Women’s University.
Allianz has already had a presence in the local football scene, supporting United City FC as its jersey partner until the regional powerhouse suddenly stopped its football operations last February.
Supporting Valdez and Co. in other sports is still a good start.
And Allianz PNB Life chief marketing and communications officer Gino Riola assured they are still eagerly looking for more collaborations.
“As with Alyssa, we want to help Filipinos be more confident in doing their best without worries,” the Filipino executive said. “Along with the benefits of our products, we are also growing the number of our Life Changers to make them more accessible to clients so they get the best possible experience out of their Allianz PNB Life plans.”
“We at Allianz PNB Life are their partners in achieving their health and wellness goals,” he concluded.
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