SEA Games viewed through the lens of the V-League

23/12/2025 10:45:00 soccer

According to the latest rankings from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Thailand’s top-tier league (Thai League) still holds the number one position in Southeast Asia, while Vietnam’s top league (V-League) ranks third, trailing behind Malaysia’s Super League.

If we use the domestic leagues as a reference to rank the men’s football teams at SEA Games 33, the above order does not quite align; in other words, during the recently concluded Southeast Asian Games, neither the Thai League nor the Super League managed to demonstrate their superiority through the performances of their U22 national teams on the field.

This is actually unsurprising when looking at the official lineups of U22 Vietnam and U22 Thailand, the two teams that competed in the SEA Games 33 final. Among the 11 starters for U22 Vietnam, except central defender Lý Đức, 10 players regularly start for their clubs.

Meanwhile, for U22 Thailand, only three players are regular starters: captain midfielder Seksan Ratree, striker Yotsakon Burapha, and defender Waris Choolthong. However, striker Yotsakon is currently on loan from Chonburi to Hougang United in the Singapore Premier League.

The other starting players for U22 Thailand, such as Iklas Sanron, Chanapach Buaphan, Kakana Kamyok, and Sittha Boonlha, mostly come off the bench. Meanwhile, players like Phosoman Sorawat, Tamma Chanon, and Khon-Ek Maneekorn play for smaller clubs or even in lower divisions like Thai League 2.

A new regulation from the 2025/26 season allows each Thai League club to field up to seven foreign players in the starting lineup (five free-nationality foreigners and up to two ASEAN foreigners). This has significantly reduced playing opportunities for young players, which directly affected the quality of the U22 Thailand team’s performance at SEA Games 33, as they failed to deliver any fully convincing performances from the group stage to the final.

Except for Lý Đức (3), 10 out of 11 starters for U22 Vietnam in the SEA Games 33 final regularly start for their clubs in the V-League. Photo: Tuấn Phạm

Furthermore, during SEA Games 33, three U22 Thailand players—Chaiyapol Adthana, Waris Choolthong, and Kakana Kamyok—had to temporarily leave the team during breaks to return to their Thai League clubs.

With such an approach, it would be surprising if U22 Thailand achieved good results at SEA Games 33. Their failure to win on home soil is quite normal, since no football system in the world allows players to compete for both club and country within such a short period as U22 Thailand did.

One reason the Thai League expanded foreign player slots is to force Thai players to compete more fiercely for starting positions, thereby raising their individual skill levels.

FIFA’s fanpage summed up the U22 Vietnamese star who scored in the SEA Games 33 final in five words.

However, whether Thai players, especially the young ones, have improved remains unclear. The looming risk of a talent crisis for Thailand’s national team is evident, as the Thai League no longer consistently produces stars like Chanathip Songkrasin or Theerathon Bunmathan. A promising young talent like Yotsakon Burapha even has to go all the way to Singapore to find a chance to start.

As for the V-League, although it ranks below the Thai League and Super League in the AFC classification system, the limits set by VFF and VPF on foreign players (three per match) allow young players to get regular playing time. The gold medal victory of Vietnam’s U22 team at SEA Games 33 is the most convincing proof of the appropriate relationship between the domestic league and the national team.

Comment (0)