Singapore men's football team will not participate in SEA Games 33, will the competition format be reversed?

On August 6, the Singapore Olympic Council (SNOC) decided not to send the country's U.22 team to participate in the men's football event at the 33rd SEA Games due to poor performance, while there was news that Brunei had also withdrawn.

SEA Games 33 men's football has only 9 teams left?

This possibility is very high, after SNOC announced the number of athletes of the Singapore sports delegation participating in the 33rd SEA Games, with a total of 762 people in 42 sports. But the most shocking thing is that the U.22 men's football team was disqualified due to poor performance, and was assessed as not being able to compete for medals. Meanwhile, the country's women's football team was allowed to participate. SNOC also decided to remove marathon champion Soh Rui Yong from the list of participants in the 33rd SEA Games due to behavioral issues in the past.

Will the men's football competition format of the 33rd SEA Games be changed after Singapore and Brunei withdrew?

Photo: Ha Phuong

SNOC will give sports associations, including the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), until August 15 to submit appeals for their athletes and teams, after being disqualified from the list of participating in the 33rd SEA Games.

FAS President Forrest Li expressed his disappointment and affirmed that the Lion Island football authority will appeal strongly to regain the right to participate in men's football for the U.22 team.

"There is a selection process and certain criteria, not just for football, but for many other sports and we understand that. What we can do now is try our best to meet the selection criteria, and I think we still have a very good chance (for the team to attend the SEA Games).

We are working very closely with all the parties involved. Many people are disappointed, especially football fans, who are very interested in following the team at the SEA Games. Moreover, competing here brings a great opportunity for our young players to develop. So we will continue to try."

FAS said they will organize two friendly matches against the U.22 Philippines and Malaysia teams this August, so that SNOC can re-evaluate and change its selection decision so that the Singapore youth team can still participate in the men's football event at the 33rd SEA Games.

If the appeal is unsuccessful, Singapore men's football will be absent from the SEA Games for the first time since 1969. In the history of participating in the SEA Games, Singapore men's football has never won a gold medal, they have won silver medals 3 times, the most recent in 1989 held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and won bronze medals 7 times. Since 2011, Singapore men's football has never passed the group stage.

Vietnam U.22 team is a candidate to win the 33rd SEA Games gold medal.

Photo: Ngoc Duong

Singapore men's football is at risk of not participating in the 33rd SEA Games, while there is also news that the Brunei team has also withdrawn. Therefore, there is a high possibility that there will only be 9 teams participating in men's football.

These include the host team Thailand, the defending champion Indonesia and the U.22 Vietnam team. All three teams are ranked in the number 1 seed group, after the announcement of the SEA Games 33 football competition format on May 21 by the Competition Committee of the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF), and have been approved by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Group 2 seeds are Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia. And group 3 are Timor Leste, Philippines, Laos. Group 4 are Singapore and Brunei. But these 2 teams are likely not to participate in SEA Games 33.

In addition, another big question mark is also waiting to be answered, which is the possibility of the U.22 Cambodian team participating, which is also left open, after the country's sports delegation has not yet decided on the number of athletes participating in the 33rd SEA Games and will have to wait until September 1 to announce.

The 33rd SEA Games, held in Thailand at the end of this year, will take place from December 9 to 20 in three major cities: Bangkok, Chonburi and Songkhla. The men's football tournament is expected to be divided into three groups, with teams competing in a round-robin format, with the three group winners and the second-placed team with the best results advancing to the semi-finals to compete for medals. This format will also apply to the women's football tournament, with nine teams expected to participate.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bong-da-nam-singapore-khong-du-sea-games-33-the-thuc-thi-dau-dao-lon-185250807094127589.htm