25th SEA Games, Laos

The Lao Football Federation is cooperating with Lao National Television and the Crossfire Company to host a four nation pre-SEA Games men's football tournament.

The tournament will see Lao, Malaysian, Thai and Vietnamese footballers play in Vientiane from October 2-6 with the aim of testing the broadcasting system and the facilities at the new national stadium.

Lao Football Federation President Phouvanh Vongsouthi said at a press conference on Tuesday the four football teams are playing an important role in the 25th SEA Games by testing the football field, broadcasting system and other aspects related to the big event.

The press conference reported that tickets for these matches will be sold for 40,000 kip for general admission and 80,000 kip for VIP seating. The money from ticket sales will be used to fund local football in the future.

“The preparation matches will also test the readiness of the Lao national football team for the games in December. I have heard reports from Vietnam that the team has greatly improved, coming out on top in tournaments held there in recent weeks,” Mr Phouvanh said.

The Lao football team is ranked seventh in Asean countries and 174th in the world.

The exhibition games will be named the ‘4-Nations Football Tournament 2009'.

The tournament begins on October 2, with Laos taking on Thailand and Vietnam playing Malaysia . October 4 will feature Malaysia and Thailand , and Laos facing Vietnam , while the last day will pit Laos against Malaysia . Vietnam will also challenge Thailand on this day. Starting games begin at 4:30pm and the second matches will be at 7pm.

Lao National Television Deputy Director General Souvanh Vilaiseng said this will be an opportunity to test broadcasting ability locally and in other countries.

The Lao Football Federation's goal for this tournament is to help prepare the SEA Games Committee, Lao National Television, and National Stadium staff to train in a live event before the actual games. To help support this effort, the federation appointed Crossfire to manage the event.

Crossfire has linked services with Total Sports Asia, an international media company, to bring in experts from around the world to offer training to SEA Games personnel and to Lao National Television.

Lao National Television benefits by learning international broadcasting techniques to build capacity, and to make this broadcast meet the highest international standards. They are providing the broadcast feed to Total Sports Asia for distribution to Thailand , Vietnam , Malaysia , Laos and other countries.

Crossfire Company Director Thiphakhanh Vilavanh said the 4-Nations Football Tournament is a defining moment in the history of Laos to demonstrate to an international audience that the country is capable of hosting international quality events.

“We are demonstrating, as Lao people, that we have the willpower and confidence to bring our close neighbours to play in this beautiful new stadium, which is a monument to the new future of Laos ,” he said.

During the press conference the Lao Football Federation, Lao National Television and Crossfire signed a cooperation agreement. The company also donated 100 million kip in support of the SEA Games.

By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
Vientianetimes