Football: Stars of national squad eligible to join Southeast Asian Games

According to the new rules announced by the organisers, the men's football at the 30th SEA Games will be the arena for the regional U22 teams. However, a new feature is that each team is allowed to register up to two players over 22 years of age in their squad.

A source from the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) said that Article 3.3 under the Games’ Charter and Rules stipulates that only players age 22 and under (born on January 1, 1997 and below) and up to two players born before January 1, 1997 are eligible to attend the men’s football event at the Games.

With this new regulation, coach Park Hang-seo’s side as well as other regional teams have the right to register two additional players at over 22 years old to strengthen their squad in the race to the gold medal at the event.

That means stars of the Vietnamese senior team like Dang Van Lam, Nguyen Cong Phuong, Do Duy Manh or Luong Xuan Truong, who were among the squad that finished in the last eight at the 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup earlier this year, will have the opportunity to attend the 30th SEA Games.

The 30th SEA Games, hosted by the Philippines, will take place from November 30 to December 11 with 523 events in 56 sports. The men’s tournament will be held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, while the Binan Football Stadium in Binan, Laguna is for the women's tournament. The drawing plan and fixtures for football at the 30th SEA Games has yet to be revealed.

Vietnam’s manager Park Hang-seo and his U23 team are preparing for Group K under the 2020 AFC U23 Championship qualification that will kick off in Hanoi later this month. (Photo: VFF)

Currently, Vietnam’s manager Park is with his U23 team preparing for the 2020 AFC U23 Championship qualification, which will kick off later this month. Vietnam will host Group K within the qualifier.

On March 18, the VFF announced that six matches of Group K will be broadcast live nationwide. Next Media Solutions JSC, as permitted by the VFF, will be the exclusive broadcaster and distributor of the broadcasting rights of the qualifier matches in all media platforms, including Nhan Dan Television.

The company has also successfully negotiated with international partners to obtain the broadcasting rights of qualification matches of other groups taking place in Indonesia and Thailand.

Vietnam U23s are in Group K along with Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei U23s. All Group K matches will be held at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi. The hosts will face Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand on March 22, March 24 and March 26, respectively.