The flags and banners are in full blown mode out of Wattay International Airport with that of the hosts flying aside those of the other ten participating countries - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, East Timor, Thailand and Vietnam.
The men’s football event started on Dec. 2 at the newly built National Stadium with Malaysia taking on East Timor while the much-anticipated encounter between defending champions Thailand and Vietnam will grace the second game of the day.
For the record, Thailand have won the SEA Games men’s gold medal for the last eight editions of the biennial championships. So it will be interesting to see if they can start their title defence against a confident Vietnam team led by the talismanic Henrique Calisto. There will be strong competition in 28 sports, with a total of 379 gold medals, 379 silver and 503 bronzes up for grabs at 17 venues.
The National Sports Complex which has the Main Stadium, Aquatic Centre, Gymnasiums, Tennis Courts, Archery Range and Shooting Range will host most of the games, from athletics to football, aquatics, badminton, volleyball, beach volleyball, tennis, archery and shooting.
The number of registered athletes is 3099 plus an additional 1486 officials while the total number of media covering the event is 663.