The race for points to make the 2014 Ryder Cup team gets underway at the Welsh Open this week but the European Tour has also announced the creation of a new team based competition which will pitch Europe’s finest against the best golfers from Asia.
The Eurasia Cup will be played for the first time in Malaysia at the end of March next year and will be played as a biennial tournament mirroring the calendar of the Ryder Cup and coming six months after the Seve Trophy which is another biennial tournament between players of Ireland and Britain against those of Continental Europe.
The staging of the Ryder Cup at the K Club in 2006 was one of the most lucrative and prestigious international sporting events Ireland has staged and Discover Ireland is the headline sponsor of the Irish Open based on the exposure that gives to the country’s high value golf tourism business.
It is in the area of tourism that the Eurasia Cup could be of great interest to the country. No indication was given at the launch as to a roster of venues for the tournament but with competition for Ryder Cup hosting at a very intense level it does broaden the scope for Ireland to get involved in another event.
The Chairman of Professional Golf Malaysia, Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid, summarised the value of the event when announcing it yesterday saying “The EurAsia Cup will showcase world-class golf at its best as both continents will be represented by ten of its finest players competing in a three-day event which will produce great drama, excitement and passion.
“Malaysia will benefit greatly from hosting The EurAsia Cup. The event will be broadcast ‘live’ to a licensed TV platform of more than 670 million homes in 45 countries around the world. Furthermore, the staging of a world-class event will reinforce Malaysia’s capabilities to host a sporting mega-event placing our nation firmly on the global sporting calendar.”
Those words could just as easily be substituted as coming from an Irish voice ahead of 2016 or 2020, and the Asian tourism market, particularly in a sector like golf would likely generate a multiple of revenue to the investment required to bring the tournament here.
Ireland is a likely bidder for some of the European Soccer Championships in 2020, and for the Rugby World Cup in 2022. The Eurasia Cup could be an additional event to benefit from the planning and logistics expertise that will be needed for those bids.
The value of major events has been highlighted by the hosting this weekend of the World Disabled Sailing Championships in Kinsale and the European Laser Championships featuring Annalise Murphy in Dun Laoghaire.
The teams attracted and the media coverage generated by major events like these generate long term value for host countries.
The benefits and issues surrounding such major drivers of sports tourism will feature as a key element of the Sport for Business Sports Tourism Seminar to be held at the GAA Museum in Croke Park on Thursday, September 19th. To find out more about the day and book one of the few places remaining, click here.
Sports Tourism Seminar at Croke Park (September 19th)
Sport for Business 20/20 at Ulster Bank HQ (October 8th)
The Business of Youth Sport Seminar (November 28th)
