East Timor’s Under-23 national football team recently faced a significant challenge that almost led to their exclusion from the 33rd SEA Games in 2025. The initial confusion and subsequent blame game highlighted issues surrounding the tournament’s registration process, with East Timor initially pointing fingers at host nation Thailand for perceived technical glitches.
The saga began when the organizers of the SEA Games announced the participating teams for the men’s football discipline, conspicuously omitting East Timor. This led to a swift and strong reaction from East Timor, which accused the host country of lacking reasonable grounds for their exclusion. Thai officials, however, countered these claims, suggesting that East Timor had submitted their team registration too late.
On October 18, the organizing committee for the 33rd SEA Games officially declared the nine teams set to compete in the men’s Under-23 football tournament. The list included host nation Thailand, along with Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, and Singapore. The absence of East Timor from this initial announcement sparked outrage among many of its football fans, who were quick to criticize the host nation.
Addressing the controversy, Mr. Chaipak Siriwat, Chairman of the 33rd SEA Games Organizing Committee and Vice President of the Thai Olympic Committee, clarified Thailand’s stance. He asserted that Thailand had never withdrawn any candidate team that had successfully completed its registration process. Following this direct response and explanation from the host nation, officials from the East Timor Football Federation eventually came forward to confirm that the delay in registration was indeed an error caused by their own administrative staff.
Despite the initial setback, East Timor’s U23 team was ultimately confirmed for participation. The draw for the men’s football event at the 33rd SEA Games had already taken place the previous week. East Timor has been placed in Group A, where they will compete against host Thailand and Cambodia. Historically, East Timor has never managed to progress beyond the group stage in previous SEA Games football tournaments.
The Group A matches are scheduled to be held at the Tinsulanon Stadium in Songkhla province, which boasts a capacity of 30,000 spectators. Meanwhile, Group B and C matches will unfold in Chiang Mai at the Anniversary Stadium. The highly anticipated semi-finals and final matches will culminate in Bangkok, taking place at the iconic Rajamangala Stadium. Group B features Vietnam, Malaysia, and Laos, while Group C includes defending champions Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Singapore.
Looking back at the previous SEA Games in Cambodia in 2023, the men’s football final saw Thailand clinch the silver medal after a fiery 5-2 defeat to Indonesia. Vietnam secured the bronze medal, triumphing over Myanmar with a 3-1 victory.
