On the afternoon of June 24, the Office of Southeast Asian Sports Federation (SEAGF) held an online conference with representatives of countries in Southeast Asia. Attending the Conference were 25 delegates, representing 11 National Olympic Committees and leaders and members of the SEAGF Office.
Countries want to get the earliest information on the organization of the SEA Games 31.
The Vietnamese delegation attended the conference with 3 members, including Mr. Tran Duc Phan, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Sports Administration, Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee of SEA Games 31; Mr. Hoang Vinh Giang, Vice Chairman of Vietnam Olympic Committee, member of SEAGF Office and Mr. Tran Van Manh, General Secretary of Vietnam Olympic Committee.
One of the remarkable contents of the conference was to update information on Vietnam’s preparation for the SEA Games 31 and the possibility of hosting the SEA Games shortly.
At the conference, the representative of the SEA Games 31’s Organizing Committee, Mr. Tran Duc Phan – Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Sports Administration, said that the SEA Games 31’s Organizing Committee had advised and selected the optimal and most suitable option to ensure the safety of attendees. When there is an official decision, the Organizing Committee will inform the countries as soon as possible.
Regarding this issue, the delegates expressed concern about the complicated development of the Covid-19 pandemic in the region and sympathized with the difficult situation in Vietnam. If the SEA Games 31 are postponed to 2022, the countries also suggested that the organization time will be around April or May. However, the countries also want to get the information as soon as possible to have time to prepare.
According to the calculation of the time of international sports events in 2022, such as the Olympic Winter Games, Beijing, China (February 2022); Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, Bangkok Thailand (March 2022); Commonwealth Games, UK (July 2022); Asian Games, Hangzhou, China (September 2022), the most suitable time to hold the SEA Games 31 will be around April or May 2022. On the other hand, this time will also be suitable for Cambodia to have enough time to prepare for the SEA Games 32, which will take place in Phnom Penh from May 5 to May 17, 2023.
Up to now, Southeast Asian countries want to receive the earliest information from Vietnam about the preparation for the SEA Games 31, especially the possibility of delaying the SEA Games 31 to 2022 because the Covid-19 pandemic is still complicated in Southeast Asia in general and Vietnam in particular. It is known that, after Vietnam’s official confirmation about the postponement of the SEA Games 31, many countries will stop gathering teams to attend regional sports events as well as report to their Governments on the funding adjustment to 2022.
At the end of the SEAGF Office’s Conference, Mr. Tran Duc Phan said that the SEA Games 31’s Organizing Committee had advised the Government on choosing the most suitable plan to successfully organize the SEA Games 31.
Thanh Tri Gymnasium is being urgently completed. Photo: HNM.
SEA Games 31 is expected to take place from November 21 to December 2, 2021 in Hanoi city and several neighboring cities and provinces such as Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho and Bac Giang. In particular, Hanoi city is the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies and organizes 20 out of 40 sports competitions as well as serving training for teams in certain subjects. To prepare for the SEA Games 31, Hanoi city is still urgently renovating and upgrading sports facilities in the capital, to ensure completion before September 31, 2021.
X.T