Disallowing Athletes from Promoting Non-official Event Sponsors during Major Sporting Events

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth in view of the rule where athletes are not allowed to promote non-official event sponsors during the period of the SEA Games, Olympics or other major sporting events, what mitigation measures are in place to ensure that the athletes do not suffer any loss or compromise on their existing, long-term or potential sponsorships.

The rules on sponsorship at the Major Games are decided by the International Olympic Committee, the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games Federation and the respective organisers, and their attendant impact on the National Olympic Committees and athletes of participating countries are established practices which have been in effect for some time. Sponsors would have taken the blackout periods into consideration when deciding on their sponsorship packages for athletes. The Government does not interfere in these decisions.

Apart from private sponsorships, our Team Singapore athletes receive support from the High Performance Sports (HPS) system overseen by the Singapore Sport Institute. Under the HPS system, Team Singapore athletes are provided comprehensive support in the form of financial grants, training and competition opportunities, as well as coaching, sports science and medicine support. In addition, Team Singapore athletes, who are not spexScholars, also receive campaign funding to help them prepare and train full-time in the lead-up to Major Games.