On the afternoon of October 29, at the headquarters of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), a working delegation of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) led by Vice President Adisak Benjasiriwan had a working session with VFF leaders to explain the incident of displaying the Vietnamese flag incorrectly at the draw for the 2025 Southeast Asian U16 and U19 Futsal Tournament, held on October 28 in Bangkok (Thailand). The meeting was witnessed by General Secretary of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) - Mr. Winston Lee.
At the meeting, on behalf of Chairman FAT Nualphan Lamsam, Mr. Adisak Benjasiriwan read an official apology letter to VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan. In the letter, Chairman FAT expressed his deep regret and most sincerely apologized for the incident of mistakenly displaying the Vietnamese flag at the draw ceremony. FAT affirmed that he was fully aware of the seriousness of this mistake, and took full responsibility and took remedial measures, tightening the organization process to avoid recurrence.
On the evening of October 28, FAT also posted an official announcement on his fanpage, apologizing to VFF and Vietnamese fans. FAT emphasized that this was "a human mistake, with no purpose of disrespecting Vietnam", and at the same time considered this an important lesson to improve professionalism in organizing international events.
VFF acknowledged FAT's openness, proactiveness and respect, and affirmed that this incident was a profound lesson in the preparation and organization of international tournaments, contributing to improving the professionalism of the regional competition system.
The FAT representative pledged not to let similar mistakes happen again, and at the same time hoped to continue to maintain a close cooperative relationship with VFF, together aiming for the goal of developing Southeast Asian football more and more professionally and sustainably.
