Dan Palami to receive Presidential Award in SAC-SMB Sports Awards
This story came out in Sun.Star Cebu
HE TOOK the risk in chasing the Philippine dream and even dared to go further by redeeming the sport of football in a country enamored with basketball.
But after a year of chasing his lofty dream, Dan Palami has done the impossible—put football at the forefront of the national consciousness. For that, the unassuming manager will receive the presidential award in this year’s Sportswriters Association of Cebu-San Miguel Brewery (SAC-SMB) Sports Awards at the Ayala Activity Center.
In 2010, Palami helped recruit players and coaches for the Azkals and even had to spend his own money to finance the team.
But it all bore fruit as the Azkals made the semifinals of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup for the first time since the tournament started in 1996. The underdogs also provided the biggest shock in the tournament by beating defending champions Vietnam, 2-0, a feat that made Sports Illustrated’s 10 best football stories of 2010. The Philippines also drew with Singapore and Myanmar.
Right time
However, the humble team manager said he doesn’t deserve all the credits.
“I was just there at the right time with the right people,” Palami said.
Before managing the senior national team, Palami was first involved in the RP U-19 team, a job he took on three weeks’ notice. Aside from his football duties, he is also the Chief Executive Officer of Autre Porte Global Inc. (AP Global), a company that handles operations and maintenance of railway systems like the LRT line 1 and Line 2 in Manila.
Aside from managing the national team, Palami also heads the the Leyte Football Association.
Aside from Palami, other major individual awardees this year are Dr. Danilo Villadolid and Boojie Lim, the silent benefactor of chess and chess players who prefer to stay in the sidelines.
HE TOOK the risk in chasing the Philippine dream and even dared to go further by redeeming the sport of football in a country enamored with basketball.
But after a year of chasing his lofty dream, Dan Palami has done the impossible—put football at the forefront of the national consciousness. For that, the unassuming manager will receive the presidential award in this year’s Sportswriters Association of Cebu-San Miguel Brewery (SAC-SMB) Sports Awards at the Ayala Activity Center.
In 2010, Palami helped recruit players and coaches for the Azkals and even had to spend his own money to finance the team.
But it all bore fruit as the Azkals made the semifinals of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup for the first time since the tournament started in 1996. The underdogs also provided the biggest shock in the tournament by beating defending champions Vietnam, 2-0, a feat that made Sports Illustrated’s 10 best football stories of 2010. The Philippines also drew with Singapore and Myanmar.
Right time
However, the humble team manager said he doesn’t deserve all the credits.
“I was just there at the right time with the right people,” Palami said.
Before managing the senior national team, Palami was first involved in the RP U-19 team, a job he took on three weeks’ notice. Aside from his football duties, he is also the Chief Executive Officer of Autre Porte Global Inc. (AP Global), a company that handles operations and maintenance of railway systems like the LRT line 1 and Line 2 in Manila.
Aside from managing the national team, Palami also heads the the Leyte Football Association.
Aside from Palami, other major individual awardees this year are Dr. Danilo Villadolid and Boojie Lim, the silent benefactor of chess and chess players who prefer to stay in the sidelines.
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