Sports And Politics Intertwine ｜Thailand Asks Cambodia To Limit Delegation Size

 Sports and politics intertwine ｜Thailand asks Cambodia to limit delegation size

The 33rd Southeast Asian Games will be held in Bangkok, Chonburi and Songkhla from December 9-20, 2025, yet preparations are still encountering sensitive issues less than four months before the opening.

The Chief Executive Officer of the East Asian Games Federation (EAGF), Chai Phat, revealed that #Cambodia's recently submitted participation list shows that it plans to send about 600 athletes and more than a hundred officials accompanying the team. However, in view of the tense political situation along the Thai-Cambodian border, the Thai side has asked Cambodia to cut the number of athletes to less than 200 for security reasons so that the host can focus on security.

In fact, Cambodia initially planned to send as many as 1,515 athletes, an arrangement made before the situation deteriorated. Later, there was news that the Cambodian side might reduce the number to 57, but Vat, secretary-general of the Cambodian National Olympic Committee, denied it and emphasized that the actual size is much larger than this number. The current list of 600 people submitted by Cambodia has not yet included the accompanying officials, and the total number may be higher. According to the rules of the competition, countries need to submit the final list before September 15, Cambodia will further reduce the scale remains to be seen.