Thailand unexpectedly proposes changing the method of SEA Games 33 football: Who benefits?

The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) has just submitted a plan to organize men's football at the 33rd SEA Games with many notable adjustments to the competition format.

According to the proposal from FAT, the men's football teams participating in the 33rd SEA Games will limit the age of players to no more than 22, aiming to prepare for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals. Most importantly, in terms of competition format, the 33rd SEA Games men's football is expected to have 11 participating teams, divided into 3 groups, which is considered unprecedented in the history of the SEA Games. Specifically, Group A consists of 3 teams, while Groups B and C each have 4 teams. The 3 group winners along with the second-placed team with the best record will qualify for the semi-finals.

The U.22 Vietnam team will face many difficulties at SEA Games 33.

PHOTO: MINH TU

Previously, FAT proposed two options. Option 1 was to increase the number of players per team from 20 to 23. Option 2 was to increase the number of groups to reduce the number of matches. In the end, option 2 won because it ensured that each team only had to play a match every three days. In addition, teams kept the same 20 players to avoid increasing costs.

As hosts, U.22 Thailand are automatically seeded in Group A, the only group with 3 teams. This means they only need to play 2 matches in the group stage and if they reach the final, they will only play a maximum of 4 matches in the entire tournament.

According to FAT, this change is to shorten the competition schedule in the context that the 33rd SEA Games will only take place within 12 days. Previous tournaments have seen some teams having to compete up to 6 or 7 matches in less than 2 weeks, causing overload and affecting professional quality.

The above proposal will be submitted by FAT to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for consideration and approval in the coming time. In terms of location, the matches will take place in 3 cities including Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Songkhla. Of which, the semi-finals and finals are likely to be held in the capital Bangkok.

Meanwhile, the women's football team is expected to have 9 teams divided into 3 groups. However, if the number of participating teams is less, the host can reduce it to 2 groups.

SEA Games 33 takes place from December 9 to 20. Football has 4 events: men's football, women's football, men's futsal and women's futsal.

Host of SEA Games 33 has advantage

If the football competition format proposed by Thailand is approved by the AFC, it can be seen that the Thai U.22 team will benefit greatly because they will play one less match than other strong opponents such as U.22 Vietnam or U.22 Indonesia in the group stage. This will help them accumulate and preserve their best physical strength before the semi-finals. In addition, being the host and not having to travel much is also a great advantage. Therefore, it is not surprising that the FAT set a target for the Thai U.22 team to win the gold medal at this SEA Games.

For the U.22 Vietnam team, it is clear that in order to achieve the target of winning a gold medal, the Vietnam Football Federation as well as coach Kim Sang-sik and his team must have thorough and scientific preparations right after the 2024-2025 V-League and first division seasons end to have the best performance.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thai-lan-bat-ngo-de-xuat-thay-doi-phuong-thuc-mon-bong-da-sea-games-33-ai-duoc-loi-185250423223531379.htm