Mr. Gongsak Yodmanee, Governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), revealed that hosting the 33rd Southeast Asian Games, taking place from December 9 to 20, 2025, has created an economic value of more than 12 billion baht since the preparation began.
This includes the direct economic impact of games and other contributing factors. He believes that the total economic value could reach 14 billion baht after the congress ends.
The Governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) added that these figures show very high economic value, the highest compared to previous sports events. This is partly due to the fact that this SEA Games includes 50 sports, attracting more than 12,000 athletes and officials to participate, compared to about 7,000 people participating in the 32nd SEA Games in 2023 in Cambodia.
In addition, the 33rd SEA Games also attracted a large number of spectators, relatives, sports fans from each country, as well as tourists to cheer for their athletes.
Mr. Gongsak added that Thai people are quite enthusiastic about sporting events. Statistics show that the total number of spectators attending the matches, including registered audiences and audiences coming to watch for themselves, as of December 18, 2025, has reached nearly 400,000 people. This number is expected to increase further after the competition ends.
As of 3:30 p.m. on December 19, Thailand is leading the medal rankings with 204 gold medals, 136 silver medals and 97 bronze medals. The Indonesian sports delegation came in 2nd, followed by the Vietnamese delegation.
Although Thailand is almost certain to lead the medal rankings, in some sports, their achievements have not met expectations, especially football. The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) aims to win 4 gold medals in indoor football (men's, women's) and 11-a-side football (men's, women's).
However, they have failed 3/4 of their events and only have a chance to win a medal in men's futsal.
