U22 Singapore unexpectedly withdraws from men's football at SEA Games 33

(Dan Tri) - The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) shocked the world when it decided not to send the Singapore U22 team to participate in men's football at the 33rd SEA Games.

On August 6, SNOC announced the list of athletes and sports teams participating in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 33), taking place in Thailand this coming December.

Accordingly, SNOC will send 762 athletes to participate in 42 sports of the 33rd SEA Games. Notably, the Singapore U22 team was not sent to attend the upcoming congress due to poor performance in recent times, marking the first absence since 1969.

U22 Singapore (red shirt) lost to U22 Vietnam with a score of 1-3 at SEA Games 32 (Photo: Khoa Nguyen).

At the 32nd SEA Games, U22 Singapore was eliminated in the group stage, with 1 draw and 3 losses. The Lion Island team lost to U22 Vietnam with a score of 1-3, then ended the group stage with a 0-7 defeat to U22 Malaysia.

It was the heaviest defeat for Singapore men's football since the sport was introduced for players aged U23 and U22 and below in 2001. This is also the main reason why SNOC decided to remove the U22 team from the upcoming 33rd SEA Games.

Not only did they remove the U22 team, most recently, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) also decided not to participate in the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament - the tournament that U23 Vietnam won.

Notably, according to Asean Football , the Singapore Football Federation (FAS) is appealing SNOC's decision to schedule friendly matches with the Philippines and Malaysia in the hope of demonstrating the team's ability to compete for achievements at the 33rd SEA Games.

"There is still a good opportunity. This is very important for our fans and for the development of our young players. We need to give our young players a proper platform and the SEA Games is a great opportunity to compete with teams in the region.

We understand there may be some concerns, as the team did not achieve good results at the recent SEA Games, but from FAS' perspective, we will do our best," said Forrest Li, President of FAS.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/u22-singapore-bat-ngo-bo-tham-du-mon-bong-da-nam-tai-sea-games-33-20250807081240885.htm