NAS eyes global standards in athlete dev’t

MANILA – The National Academy for Sports (NAS) hopes to produce world-class athletes, just like what the Rafael Nadal Sports Academy did for rising tennis sensation Alex Eala.

Newly appointed NAS executive director Francis Carlos Diaz stressed his point of thinking globally when he met with the different program heads of the government-run academy upon assuming office last week.

“Alex Eala was an example of an athlete who was groomed and taught by a sports academy – the Rafael Nadal Academy with an academic program embedded in his program. And we can see how much success Alex is enjoying right now,” said Diaz during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.

Diaz, a former dean at the University of the Philippines College of Human Kinetics, said the NAS is stepping towards that same direction as the Nadal Academy, founded by former No. 1 and retired Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal in 2016.

“That’s what we do at NAS, actually. So it can be likened to that. We’re looking at it as if there are challenges and we are facing them. And we’re transforming all of these into opportunities and we’re not lacking in seeking out partners to be able to deliver all of this funding to our student-athletes,” said Diaz.

Two-fold responsibility

The NAS, established in 2020 through Republic Act 11470, has its main campus at the New Clark City Sports Complex in Capas, Tarlac, where it currently houses 237 student-athletes.

Similar to the Philippine Science High School and the Philippine High School for the Arts in Makiling, Laguna, Diaz said the academy has a two-fold responsibility.

“To provide quality and holistic secondary education to all student-athletes enrolled and, secondly, this is the special niche of those enrolled there. They are being developed by the academy to become future national athletes of our country, hopefully, to compete in sub-regional meets like the Southeast Asian Games, the regionals like the Asian Games, all the way to the Olympics,” explained Diaz, who took over the post previously held by professor Josephine Joy Reyes.

At present, the academy is focused on athletics, aquatics, taekwondo, badminton, table tennis, judo and gymnastics. / PNA

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