KUALA LUMPUR, 23 APRIL 2018: Malaysia continues its participation in the premier sports conference, SportAccord, this year in Bangkok, Thailand from 15 – 20 April 2018 to continue the effort to showcase the nation’s capabilities and capacities in sporting events hosting, especially so after the successful hosting of the 29th Southeast Asia Games (SEA Games) and the 9th ASEAN Para Games in 2017.
“MME has been participating in the SportAccord convention since 2011, and it has proven to be the best platform for us to gain insights on what other players in the sports events industry are up to. With over 2,000 delegates and representatives from international sports federation, host city, event organiser and suppliers, this is also a good opportunity to pick up leads and help our efforts in securing world-class sporting events to be held in Malaysia as we gear up for the upcoming Visit Malaysia 2020,” said Tony Nagamaiah, General Manager of Malaysia Major Events (MME).
Leading this year's delegation is Malaysia Major Events (MME), a division of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), an agency under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, and is joined by a strong Malaysian team comprising of Perbadanan Stadium Malaysia (PSM), E-plus Entertainment Productions Sdn Bhd, Tough Gorilla, Livescape Sdn Bhd, Original Bootcamp Sdn Bhd, and Penang Asia Pacific Masters Games Sdn Bhd. SportAccord is the world’s premier and most exclusive annual conference at the service of sport. It is focused on driving positive change internationally and dedicated to engaging and connecting: rights holders, organising committees, cities, press and media, business and other organisations involved in the development of sport. This year, MME have further enhanced the opportunity by being one of the Gold Partners for SportAccord 2018.
In 2017, sporting events supported by MME alone attracted close to 170,000 attendees out of which over 42,000 are international attendees, further highlighting the need to mark the nation as a premiere sporting destination. Besides hosting the Sea Games KL 2017, Malaysia and MME also supported the ALYA WTA – Malaysia Open 2017, World Chinese Basketball International Tournament, Viper Challenge, Ironman Malaysia and Ironman 70.3 langkawi, FIM Asia Supermoto Championship, FIVB World Tour 2017, Powerman Asia Duathlon Championships, just to name a few.
After SEA Games 2017 was hosted in Malaysia, it made a big step in creating enhanced sports facilities in Malaysia. The Kuala Lumpur Sports City (KLSC), or formerly known as Bukit Jalil National Sports Complex, has been newly renovated in 2017 with 85,500 seating capacity. It is set to be one of the most iconic and distinctive international sporting and entertainment centre in Asia. KLSC is the largest sport complex in the country. Located in the KLSC compound are National Stadium, Axiata Arena, National Aquatic Centre, National Squash Centre and National Hockey Stadium. Other than that, Malaysian National Ice Skating Stadium (MyNISS) and National Velodrome were both specially built in 2017 with world-class facilities and international standards.
MME provides a shared platform with both public and private sectors and act as a vital link in facilitating and promoting major events. By this, the division aims to amplify the country’s venues, showcase national highlights, increase participation and spectatorship and leave indelible impressions. As an added incentive for athletes who come to Malaysia, the country offers hassle-free visa, immigration and custom clearance, travel convenience, training facilities, a number of accommodation options, healthy food and all-round memorable experiences. Malaysia is also an excellent value-for-money country, ranked as one of the best value destinations in the world.