The very surprising reason that led to the mistake of Vietnam's National Anthem at the SEA Games

Before the match between U22 Vietnam and U22 Laos in the men's football SEA Games 33 at Rajamangala Stadium, a serious incident was witnessed. The two teams had to sing the national anthem without background music. That caused public opinion of the two countries to react strongly to the organizing committee.

Lý do rất bất ngờ dẫn tới sai sót Quốc ca Việt Nam ở SEA Games - 1 — The Vietnam U22 team had to sing the national anthem without background music (Screenshot).

According to Matichon, the reason for this incident was because the team in charge of the sound system at Rajamangala Stadium had finished their regular working hours before the match between U22 Vietnam and U22 Laos at 4 p.m. on December 3. Because they did not receive a request to work overtime (or were not paid for overtime), the technical team turned off the equipment and left.

When the SEA Games operations team arrived, they were unfamiliar with the sound system and were unable to restart it in time, resulting in the national anthem not being played. By the time the U22 Thailand vs U22 Timor Leste match took place at 7 p.m. the same day, the system was back in operation thanks to the technical staff who were quickly dispatched back.

Regarding this serious mistake, Thailand's Minister of Tourism and Sports , Mr. Atthakorn Sirilatthayakorn, officially apologized to the two sports delegations of Vietnam and Laos.

Mr. Atthakorn said this was a “technical error and lack of coordination”, and affirmed that the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) immediately sent a letter of apology to the embassies of Vietnam and Laos. Minister Atthakorn also met the U22 Vietnam team directly during an inspection trip at Queen Sirikit Stadium (Rangsit - Klong 6) on December 5 to express his apology.

Minister Atthakorn admitted that Thailand's preparations were under pressure, mainly due to budget issues. Although the Thai government had approved the cost framework for the organization in advance, the annual disbursement of funds meant that SAT did not receive the full amount on time.

Lý do rất bất ngờ dẫn tới sai sót Quốc ca Việt Nam ở SEA Games - 2 — Minister Atthakorn confirmed that he met directly with the Vietnam U22 team to apologize (Photo: Matichon).

Specifically, in the first year, SAT was only granted 157 million baht (129 billion VND). The following year, they received more (727 billion VND). Although they received an additional 400 million baht (329 billion VND) from the Sports Development Fund and part of the central budget, the total budget was still "insufficient from the beginning".

As a result, some important items such as the opening ceremony, logistics, accommodation and television were only budgeted in October 2025, causing delays in the procurement and bidding process and causing much controversy among the public.

The Minister of Tourism and Sports of Thailand affirmed that everything is in compliance with State regulations and there is no such thing as the Government making any promises or commitments to any contractor.

Mr. Atthakorn emphasized that the Thai Government, especially Deputy Prime Minister Thammanat Prompao, is closely monitoring all aspects to ensure the opening ceremony and the entire tournament run smoothly. “We are not blaming anyone. Everyone is working hard to make the 33rd SEA Games a success and bring joy to both athletes and fans,” he said.

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