A fallout from Cambodia’s withdrawal from men’s football competition of the upcoming 33rd SEA Games has been resolved, with Singapore being drafted in from the other group to fill in the void in Group A along with Thailand and Timor Leste in the revised draw.
Football was part of Cambodia’s partial withdrawal from the Games that was only abruptly announced earlier this week.
The other seven sports which Cambodia pulled out from the region’s biennial sporting event due to be held between December 9-20 were judo, karate, pencak silat, petanque, wrestling, wushu and sepak takraw. They, though, confirmed their participation in another 13 disciplines including swimming and athletics.
Cambodia’s sudden pulling out no doubt caused havoc to the organisation of the competition, particularly football, one of the events that are slated to get underway before the official start of the 2025 Games.
How to find a solution for Cambodia’s absence in the men’s football competition, which left Thailand and Timor Leste being the only remaining two teams in Group A, was at the centre of conundrum discussed at the organising committee’s meeting at the Government House on Thursday.
The committee chaired by the Tourism and Sports Minister Atthakorn Sirilatthayakorn eventually resolved to move Singapore, one of the teams seeded in pot four like Cambodia, from Group C to Group A in place of the Cambodians instead. The adjustment ensured all three groups of the men’s football event have three teams apiece.
In the revised draw, Group A comprises Thailand, Timor Leste and Singapore. Vietnam, Malaysia and Laos are in Group B, while Group C contains of defending champions Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines.
The Thai team are due to kick off their campaign against Timor Leste at the Rajamangala National Stadium on December 3 at 7pm before taking on Singapore on December 11 at the same venue and kickoff time.
For the women’s football competition, the draw remained unchanged following Cambodia’s withdrawal, which saw Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia remain in Group A, while Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines and Malaysia are in Group B.
The organising committee, meanwhile, acknowledged the decision to relocate 10 sport events from flood-hit Songkhla to Bangkok and already endorsed the new venue for each discipline.
