At a black tie gala awards ceremony was attended by more than 300 sports professionals from around the region in a packed Centara Grand ballroom.

Liverpool and their partnering sponsors Standard Chartered Bank topped the Best Sponsorship of a Sport, Team or Event of the Year category and claimed silver in the Best Sports Brand Retail, Activation or Product Launch of the Year and Best Sports Marketing Campaign of the Year.

“It is an amazing night,” exclaimed Mark Rollings, senior partnership manager, Liverpool FC. “We are as good as the brands we partner with. It’s just great that we are recognised by the sports industry in Asia.”

Following a rigorous judging process and a record 208 entries, winners were awarded in 18 categories recognising excellence of rights holders, marketing agencies, sports brands, events, organisations, and venue operators across 17 Asian countries.

Organised by MMC Sportz and Sport360, in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports Thailand and the Sports Authority of Thailand, SPIA Asia 2016 followed  a two-day conference that brought together more than 200 sports industry professionals.

Speaking at the Awards ceremony, Didier Brun, Deputy CEO of Sport360 said, “The Asian Sports Industry Awards has grown this year: a clear sign of the industry’s health. It’s encouraging to see such a large number of entries, but what is even more encouraging is the quality of those entries.”

After the initial round of judging, 72 Thai entries were short-listed across the 18 categories and claimed five Gold, five Silver and five Bronze awards. Other big winners on the night were Hong Kong and Singapore, each winning three Gold awards.