BAGUIO CITY, Philippines, March 14, 2025 – AIA Philippines, formerly Philam Life and now the local arm of Hong Kong-based AIA Group, recently brought world-class football training to 100 students from eight elementary schools in Baguio City. This was done in partnership with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, a top-ranking team in the English Premier League for which AIA is a Global Principal Partner.

Held at the seven-hectare complex of the Baguio City Athletic Bowl in Burnham Park, the AIA football clinic is a special initiative of the AIA Healthiest Schools (AHS) program that aims to raise awareness of the importance of building healthy habits among young Filipinos.

The clinic, led by Tottenham Hotspur's International Football Development Manager Shannon Moloney and International Football Development Coach Lily Jervis, in collaboration with Baguio City local football coaches, proved to be an unforgettable experience for participating students and schools from Baguio, including Pinsao Elementary School, Jose P. Laurel Elementary School, Cristal Cave Integrated School, Doña Aurora Elementary School, Baguio Central School, Bonifacio Elementary School, Bakakeng Elementary School, and Manuel Roxas Elementary School.

The two-day training featured exciting football drills and skill-building exercises for local coaches and kids, which focused on effective play, enhanced agility and footwork, and breaking tackles and gaining yardage.

Honorable Mayor Benjamin Magalong, along with other local government officials and representatives from the Department of Education in Baguio, were also in attendance. Mayor Magalong acknowledged the value of AHS, complementing its efforts to strengthen the local government’s quality education and sports initiatives in the City of Pines.

"We were thrilled to partner with Tottenham Hotspur to bring the lessons from our AIA Healthiest Schools program to life through this football clinic in Baguio, a city that has great love for football, and other outdoor sports and activities that encourage holistic well-being," said Melissa Henson, Chief Marketing Officer, AIA Philippines.

"This initiative underscores our commitment to empowering young people to make healthy choices, and get them started on their journeys to healthier, longer and better lives at an early age."

Scoring big goals for the youth

“Being involved in AHS is such a great honor and I love being able to share my knowledge and experience, both in the education and football space. The coaches, educators and students from Baguio were such an energetic, enthusiastic and fun group who embraced all the activations and delivered so well,” shared coach Shannon Moloney, who used to be an educator and played midfielder for the Tottenham Hotspur Women’s team.

Coach Lily Jervis, who played for the Northern Regional Football in the National Women’s League in New Zealand, added: “I loved seeing all the smiling faces and enthusiasm for football in Baguio. It is always very special for us to see the love for the game in Asia!”

Launched in the Philippines in August 2024, the AIA Healthiest Schools program is a pioneering initiative designed to boost health literacy among students aged 5 to 16 and teach them the importance of healthy eating, active lifestyle and overall well-being. Following successful implementations across Asia and Australia, the program has so far reached over 7,200 students and trained 139 teachers across five regions in the Philippines. AIA Healthiest Schools provides free, curriculum-linked resources and materials based on four pillars of well-being: healthy eating, physical activity, mental health, and sustainability.

In the Philippines, the program is implemented in partnership with the Corazon S. Atayde Memorial Foundation (CSAMF), which serves grassroots communities to promote reading, learning and financial literacy to underserved communities.

"AIA Healthiest Schools helps us amplify our efforts to create long-term positive impact on students’ learning journeys, by also improving their health literacy and community well-being," added Margaux Atayde, Executive Director, Corazon Sanchez Atayde Memorial Foundation.

“Through the AIA Football Clinic, we can encourage more students to translate the lessons of the football field into real-life success, as their own captains of a healthier, happier future.

”AIA Philippines plans to expand the AIA Healthiest Schools program to reach even more students across the country, ensuring that future generations are more empowered to live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.

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About AIA Philippines

AIA Philippines (AIA Philippines Life and General Insurance Company, Inc.) is one of the country’s largest life insurance companies. Originally established on 21 June 1947 as Philam Life (The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company), AIA Philippines has earned the trust of customers for its financial strength, strong brand name, and ability to deliver on its promises. Today, AIA Philippines is a member of AIA Group Limited, the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group, which operates in 18 markets across the Asia-Pacific region.

AIA Philippines has PHP266.75 billion in total assets¹ and PHP72.54 billion in net worth¹ as of 31 December 2023 while serving nearly 1,200,000 individual policyholders and almost 1,000,000 insured group members.

Based on the Insurance Commission results as of 31 December 2023, the combined total premium income of AIA Philippines and BPI AIA was at PHP27.93 billion.

AIA Philippines understands the needs of its customers and provides holistic solutions that include life protection, health insurance, savings, education, retirement, investment, group, and credit life insurance. Its subsidiaries include BPI AIA Life Assurance Corporation (formerly BPI-Philam Life Assurance Corporation), its bancassurance arm; AIA Investment Management and Trust Corporation Philippines, its trust company managing its local funds; and MediCard Philippines, its wholly owned health maintenance organization (HMO) company.

About AIA

AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively “AIA” or the “Group”) comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets – wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR², Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan (China), Vietnam, Brunei and Macau SAR³, and a 49 per cent joint venture in India. In addition, AIA has a 24.99 per cent shareholding in China Post Life Insurance Co., Ltd.

The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai more than a century ago in 1919. It is a market leader in Asia (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$289 billion as of 30 June 2024.

AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia, AIA serves the holders of more than 42 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.

AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock codes “1299” for HKD counter and “81299” for RMB counter with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market under the ticker symbol “AAGIY”.

For more information:
Michelle Velete
Communications Lead
AIA Philippines
michelleelaine.velete@aia.com

Trix Catly
Senior Media Relations Manager
Ogilvy Philippines
trix.catly@ogilvy.com

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¹ Based on the 2023 annual accounts Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.