Thailand is rushing to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games and the 13th ASEAN para Games, scheduled to take place in December 2025. However, the organization process still faces a major obstacle when the budget for the event is still short of nearly 459 million baht, equivalent to about 380 billion VND.
According to the plan approved by the Thai cabinet in June, the total budget for the two events is 2.055 billion baht. In addition to the central budget, localities are also encouraged to participate in contributing and supporting. However, by the time it was only 90 days before the opening ceremony, the disbursement had not yet been completed.
Mr. Kongsak Yodmanee - Director of the Sports Department of Thailand (SAT) said that part of the budget cut was due to an adjustment from the Budget Department. The organizing committee has sent additional proposals to meet the additional costs because there are more competitions and athletes than the original plan.
The situation became more complicated when Minister of Tourism and Sports Sorawong Thienthong resigned on September 8. However, Mr. Kongsak affirmed that the preparation progress is still guaranteed, and expressed his confidence that his successor will continue to accompany the organizers to make the event go smoothly.
The 33rd SEA Games will take place from December 9 to 20 in Bangkok, Songkhla and Chonburi. The tournament is expected to gather about 12,500 athletes from 11 countries in the region, competing in 50 sports with 574 events.
Home Thailand aims to return to the number one position on the total medal table after 10 years, since their last appearance in 2015.
