Four Problems Haunt Thailand's SEA Games Preparation 2025

The 2025 Thailand SEA Games are considered not ready (doc. Special).

JAKARTA The opening of the 2025 SEA Games is just a matter of days, but Thailand's preparations have drawn a lot of criticism, especially against the lack of promotions for the event, venue issues, athlete allowances, and political dramas.

The 33rd edition of the SEA Games is scheduled to start in Thailand on December 9, 2025. This marks the return of the country as host after 18 years. The organizing committee has so far confirmed that everything is ready, but public criticism of the four main issues is inevitable.

Lack of promotion: The faintest SEA Games

The SEA Games this time are referred to as "the quietest in history". Many Thais don't even know the match schedule, venue location, or the existence of the event. This is in stark contrast to the 1995 SEA Games. At that time, the Win It In Your Heart theme song echoed across the country.

Thailand's Minister of Tourism and Sports, Athakorn Sirilatthayakorn, denied the assumption that Thailand was not ready, but acknowledged that promotional efforts still had to be increased in the hope that it could generate 15 billion baht or Rp7.8 trillion if the promotional plan was successful.

Relocation of venues: delays and natural disasters

Initially the 2025 SEA Games were planned to take place in three provinces, namely Bangkok, Chonburi, and Songkhla. However, floods in the southern region forced the relocation of 10 sports (sports) to Bangkok and Chonburi for security reasons.

In addition, additional problems arise due to the construction of a number of venues, including swimming pools at the Sports Authority of Thailand, experiencing delays. This automatically triggers concerns over equipment costs that can swell.

These various problems have made the public compare it to the failure of previous international events in Thailand, such as the cancellation of last year's Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.

Athlete allowance Drama

The most controversial issue is reducing athlete benefits and late payments, which have caused widespread frustration and undermined athletes' motivation. Thailand's badminton star, Pornpawee Chochuwong, even stepped down from the SEA Games before finally being persuaded to return.

The Thai boxing team manager revealed that athletes feel unmotivated due to the lack of transparency and late payments from sports federations, even many athletes have not received payments for months.

Politics: Cambodia is delayed and schedule delays

Cambodia surprisingly withdrew from several sports citing concerns over security following clashes on the border with Thailand. Many have speculated that this is related to geopolitical tensions, which have a direct impact on the ASEAN sporting event.

Cambodia's withdrawal caused the postponement of the match's official schedule, even some sports still do not have a definite date. This situation further strengthens criticism of the hosts' unpreparedness.

Despite being hit by controversy, the host Thailand sent 1,531 athletes. They set a target of winning the seventh gold medal as the host.