SEA Games while 'having family matters to attend to'

SEA Games trong lúc 'nhà có việc' - Ảnh 1. — The 33rd SEA Games will be held from December 9th to 20th in Thailand - Photo: NAM TRAN

It's not because Thailand lacks experience and has never hosted a regional sporting event; for many years, sports fans everywhere have known that previous SEA Games held in Thailand have always been organized on a large scale, smoothly, and successfully.

Thailand was the first country to host the Southeast Asian Games in 1959 in Bangkok. As the scale of the SEA Games, the number of participating countries, and the number of sports increased along with the rapid development of Southeast Asian sports, they continued to host the Games again in 1967, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2007, and now in 2025.

No country in Southeast Asia has as much experience in organizing such events as Thailand, nor does any sports delegation surpass Thailand in the number of gold medals or the total number of medals they have won across 32 participations.

But this time, things were not going smoothly for the host nation of the 33rd SEA Games. An unprecedented flood in decades swept through Songkhla, causing significant loss of life and property, forcing them to change the venues for many events held there.

Tensions have flared up again in recent days with Cambodia over the border issue, leading to the first-ever withdrawal of a sports delegation from the competition, despite having marched in an opening ceremony that was criticized for its clever concept but also for having too many flaws and avoidable mistakes.

Political instability also led Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to dissolve the Lower House on December 11, paving the way for an election within the next 45 to 60 days.

The 33rd SEA Games took place in that context, with the host country juggling organizing and ensuring security for a large sporting event featuring numerous sports from various regions across the country, while also dealing with a multitude of domestic and foreign affairs.

So perhaps we need to be more understanding towards them in the context of "family matters."

In fact, Thailand reacted very quickly in handling unforeseen incidents, from relocating the competition venue from a flooded area to a safe location, rearranging the schedule after the Cambodian team withdrew, and trying to minimize organizational and logistical disruptions.

The SEA Games have successfully navigated a tumultuous first week, and hopefully, the final week of competition will see the Games conclude safely without any major incidents.

What happened and how the incident was handled will certainly be valuable lessons for the next host countries, most notably Malaysia in September 2027.

Regardless, looking at the bigger picture, regional sports can certainly learn many lessons.

ASEAN's motto is "Unity in Diversity," and the Southeast Asian Games' slogan is "We Are One," demonstrating that showcasing cultural solidarity, displaying sportsmanship, and celebrating regional friendship through the SEA Games is inseparable from the bloc's motto.

However, over the years, the problems that once tarnished the reputation of previous Games have not been fully resolved, such as referee bias towards the host team, and the SEA Games, despite being held quite frequently, every two years, have still not raised the overall quality of sports in the region compared to the rest of the continent.

Perhaps after this congress, the Southeast Asian Sports Federation will hold meetings to reassess the 2025 SEA Games, primarily to consider ways to handle incidents and prevent relationships between ASEAN countries from affecting regional sporting events in particular and Southeast Asian sports in general, with sportsmanship and the goal of reaching beyond the region as the top priority.

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