Due to food shortages, the Vietnamese football and futsal teams had to purchase additional food supplies for the SEA Games 33.

Three-quarters of the Vietnamese football and futsal teams that traveled to Thailand had to buy extra food to ensure they received enough nutrients for training and competition at the SEA Games 33.

The Vietnamese women's futsal team upon their arrival in Thailand - Photo: VFF

The quality of meals for athletes is a matter of discussion at the 33rd SEA Games currently taking place in Thailand. This is especially true for athletes who engage in high-intensity exercise, requiring a balanced and varied diet for training and competition, such as those in football and futsal.

When the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism - President of the Vietnam Olympic Committee (VOC) Nguyen Van Hung visited and encouraged the Vietnamese sports delegation participating in the 33rd SEA Games in Bangkok on December 9th, the issue of inadequate nutrition in football and futsal was raised.

Specifically, the Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), Mr. Tran Anh Tu, reported to the Minister about the inadequate nutrition and the time-consuming training schedule of the Vietnamese women's national team in Chonburi, hoping that the VOC would report this to the host country, Thailand, to resolve the issue.

The lunch box provided to the Vietnamese women's futsal team at their hotel on the 11th-12th of the month has been criticized as being too small and lacking in nutrition - Photo: Provided by the team.

However, things haven't improved. Most recently, the Vietnamese women's futsal team, who traveled to Thailand on December 10th, had to spend two days eating boxed lunches at the hotel.

Notably, the lunchboxes for each athlete contained only a few meager items, hardly enough to meet the intensity of the players' training. At noon on December 11th, each Vietnamese women's futsal player received a lunchbox containing approximately one bowl of rice, a few slices of vegetables, an egg, and a few pieces of meat.

Even for dinner, despite being a buffet, the athletes reported that there were only 4-5 dishes, which was quite few and not nutritious enough.

Unlike the women's futsal team, who eat boxed meals, the Vietnam U22 team and the Vietnam women's team also suffer from nutritional deficiencies. The buffet meals are quite limited in variety and lack sufficient nutrients.

Therefore, the VFF instructed the logistics team to purchase raw food (beef, salmon, etc.) to prepare and cook for the football and futsal teams to eat at the hotel. In addition, the logistics team also ordered food from Vietnamese restaurants in Bangkok for the teams to consume, ensuring both delicious and nutritious meals, helping the athletes maintain sufficient energy for training and competition.

The Vietnamese women's team suffered from food shortages at the SEA Games 30.

At the 30th SEA Games in the Philippines, the Vietnamese women's team's meal also brought tears to fans' eyes when it consisted of only two main dishes: fried chicken and fried fish. Along with that were some vegetables like cucumber and lettuce as side dishes, plus a little fruit for dessert.

Therefore, the VFF also had to instruct the logistics team to go to the market and cook extra meals for the team. Vietnamese fans who traveled to the Philippines to support the team also brought additional food supplies.

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NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thieu-an-tuyen-bong-da-futsal-viet-nam-phai-mua-them-thuc-pham-o-sea-games-33-2025121113094716.htm