SEA Games shelved soon?
The 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games is facing the risk of getting moved to a later date or canceled altogether due to the rising cases of coronavirus infections in Vietnam and the rest of the region.
Vietnamese sports officials admitted that they are having difficulty organizing the prestigious biennial meet that will feature 520 events in 40 sports.
The Games are to be held in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi and in 11 provinces and cities from 21 November to 2 December.
The officials said the ongoing health crisis made
it hard for them to organize the Games from the preparation of the facilities to training and coaching of athletes.
They said the threat posed by the pandemic is increasing each day due to the new strains of virus and all 12 localities hosting events have reports of Covid-19 infections.
Provinces of Bac Ninh and Bac Giang, as well as Hanoi, which will serve as the main hub of the festivities are badly hit by the coronavirus.
Vietnamese officials are also considering the restriction of fans that would definitely hurt the success of the Games that will be participated by 10,000 athletes, coaches, officials and other delegates from 11 Southeast Asian countries.
The Vietnam SEA Games Organizing Committee had already set a meeting with the SEA Games Federation Council on 9 June to further discuss and formalize the postponement.
“We do not know if it is possible to hold the 31st SEA Games in March or June 2022 because we are not yet sure if the vaccination rate in member countries will already reach 60 to 70 percent at that time,” an official from Vietnam’s General Department of Sports and Physical Training told Vietnamnet.vn.
“At the end of 2022, Vietnam will organize the national sports games while Cambodia will host the 32nd SEA Games in 2023.”
Another source from Vietnam told a Malaysian news outlet, The Vibes, that the virus is spreading fast in North and South, and the 21-day quarantine is a major roadblock to the biennial meet.
So far, Vietnam Ministry of Health confirmed that the number of cases in its country has reached 8,580 with 49 deaths.
“It is a challenge to host the Games,” the source said, citing the fact that there will be too many conditions imposed if it goes ahead and that will make it difficult for all participating countries.
“They could move it to March next year, but nothing is confirmed yet.”
Singapore, however, proposed that all events could be hosted by all Southeast Asian countries in case Vietnam couldn’t.
Lim Teck Yin, the chief executive officer of Sports Singapore, said they are ready for anything, including the possible hosting of the Games, if required.
“We are ready to organize the event at the end of the year, if necessary,” Lim told The Straits Times newspaper.
“To decide whether to hold the event in one country or many countries, we will have to wait and see and there are still a few months left for us to work together.”
“I hope ASEAN will have a solution for the SEA Games this year.”
If ever, this will be the second time that the prestigious regional sports meet would be called off.
The first time it was postponed was in 1963 when Cambodia begged off due to domestic political situation. Although the ASEAN Paralympic Games in Manila was canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the SEA Games was regularly held every year with Thailand and Malaysia hosting it six times, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia four, and Myanmar three.