Revealing the reason why Timor-Leste chose Chonburi as its home ground to face the Vietnam national team

The Timor-Leste national team has opted to use Thailand as its home base for the group stage fixtures of the 2026 AFF Cup, which feature matches against the Vietnam and Indonesia national teams.

In Group A of the 2026 AFF Cup, Timor-Leste will play two matches as the home side during the group stage. The team, nicknamed The Rising Sun, will host the Vietnam national team and the Indonesia national team in succession.

Timor-Leste will face Vietnam on July 24, before taking on Indonesia on July 31. Both matches will be held at Chonburi Stadium in Chonburi Province (Thailand).

Thai media reported that initially, Timor-Leste had no plans to use Chonburi Stadium for the 2026 AFF Cup matches.

According to the original plan, the team intended to choose Thammasat Stadium in Pathum Thani as its home venue. This location is closer to the capital city of Bangkok.

"The Timor-Leste national team, previously scheduled to use Thammasat University Stadium in Rangsit as its home ground for the 2026 AFF Cup, has now confirmed a switch to Chonburi Stadium to host its home matches.

In the group stage, Timor-Leste will play two matches at Chonburi Stadium. The opening match will take place on July 24 against Vietnam, while the third match is scheduled for July 31 against Indonesia."

During its participation in the AFF Cup in 2004, 2018, 2020, and 2024, Timor-Leste has never been able to play at home due to the lack of a stadium meeting international match standards.

The largest stadium in Timor-Leste is the Estadio Municipal de Dili (Timor-Leste National Stadium) in the capital Dili, with a capacity of about 13,000 seats, but it has not yet met the conditions to host international matches.

Therefore, whenever participating in the AFF Cup, Timor-Leste must choose a home ground abroad. In the past, the team has set its home base in Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand.