25th SEA Games, Laos

Tickets for football matches on the first day of competition in the 25th SEA Games have already sold out, according to distributors yesterday.

The 20,000 seats at the National Stadium will be packed with fans cheering for some of the region's most popular footballers on the first day of the games in Vientiane .

SEA Games ticket distributor, Mr Phankham Vongkhanty, also President of the Vongkhanty Construction Company, said many representatives from his company had reported selling all of their tickets, particularly to Vietnamese and Thai spectators.

“We have no tickets left for the match between Thailand and Vietnam or the Malaysia vs Timor Leste game, both of which take place on the first day of the games,” he said.

The first match will begin at 3pm when Malaysia takes on Timor Leste. The second game is the big match of the day and pits Thailand against Vietnam .

Mr Phankham said various Vietnamese tour companies had bought tickets for their customers, while Thai fans also took many of the tickets for the anticipated clash.

“Vietnamese fans will greatly outnumber Thai fans because our staff said the Vietnamese had ordered thousands of tickets from our company. So I think there'll be a lot more red shirts with yellow stars packing the stands.”

He said ticket prices ranged from 50,000 kip to 70,000 kip, which gave spectators the chance to watch both matches.

At the 24th SEA Games in 2007, Thailand and Vietnam played in different groups. In critical matches, Vietnam lost to Singapore 5-0 and Thailand defeated Myanmar 2-0 to win the gold medal. Timor Leste did not enter a football team, and Malaysia placed third in group B featuring Laos , Singapore and Vietnam .

Interviews with coaches at the weekend indicated Vietnam rated their hopes of victory at 50-50 while the Thai team had a firm belief they would contest the final.

Mr Phankham said tickets to the opening and closing ceremonies were already sold out, but he had 100 to 200 tickets that had been booked but not yet collected. If nobody claims the tickets they will be sold outside the stadium on the day of the opening ceremony on December 9.

“I want to remind ticket buyers that opening ceremony tickets can be used for the closing ceremony as well. One ticket will allow entry to both events. Our staff will tear off the top part of the ticket and the remainder can be used to gain entry to the closing ceremony.”

He warned that some ticket touts might tear off the top part of the ticket to sell for entry to the opening ceremony, deceiving people who did not realise the whole ticket was valid for both events. The touts would then sell the other half of the ticket separately for the closing ceremony.

“Our staff and other security personnel won't allow you to enter the stadium for either of these ceremonies if they see your ticket is not the right size,” he said.

By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
Vientianetimes

(KPL) Four badminton players from the Lao national badminton team left Vientiane on 5 October to attend the YONEX-SUNRISE Vietnam Open Grand Prix 2009 which is scheduled to be held in Ho Chi Minh City from 6 to 11 October.

A farewell ceremony for the Lao team was held on 5 October at the Wattay International Airport. The team comprising four badminton players and two coaches, are Mr. Somsaveng Sengsilavong, representative of the National Badminton Association (head), Mr. Yothin Latsavong, Mr. Sathien Mouanvongsa, Mr. Phakonekham Fongmalaiseng and Mr. Vanpaseut Philavanh. They will take part in men single and double badminton competition.

Mr. Somsaveng Sengsilavong disclosed that the Lao team was well prepared physically and technically. Thus we can say that we are sure to pass to the semi final in man double badminton competition, said Mr. Somsaveng. The Open Grand Prix is organised every year and this year?s competition will be divided into five categories: men and women single, men and women double, and mixed double badminton competitions. 16 teams are invited to this year?s competition, including two teams from Laos.

In 2008 the competition was held in Hanoi, the Lao team won the 3rd prize for men double team.

Photo: Lamnao Singto ( centre ) shows his fancy footwork as he attempts to get the ball past a Malaysian defender.

The U-23 Lao football team wrapped up an unbeaten run at the 4-Nations Football Tournament last night with a 1-1 draw with Malaysia in front of home fans at the new 20,000-seat National Stadium in Vientiane


About 16,000 supporters turned out to watch the match, including a contingent of Malaysian fans.

The Lao side started their attack early, but had difficulty penetrating the Malaysian defence. The first half ended in a nil-nil draw.

However, the home team's game improved in the second half, proving more dangerous for the Malaysian defenders. During the second half the U-23s had a lot opportunities to score and take the lead, but several of their shots were off target.

In the 53rd minute, Lamnao Singto dribbled the ball past three of the Malaysian defenders before hitting the back of the net, but the referee called him off-side.

In the 70th minute, Lamnao shot again, but this time the ball soared over the crossbar. Another salvo was stopped by an excellent save from Malaysian keeper Muhammad Zamir B Selamat in the 74th minute.

The first goal for the Lao side came in the 81st minute, when Paseuthsack Souliyavong put the ball past the Malaysian keeper and into the net, thanks to an accurate cross from Lamnao in the penalty area.

However, the Lao side and their fans were able to enjoy this goal-scoring display for only one minute, with Malaysian team captain Mohamad Muslim Bin Ahmad heading the ball into the net at the opposite end in the 82nd minute.

No more goals were recorded, and the game ended in a draw.

Lao team manager Viphet Sihachackr said his team needed further improvement.

“I can say that the team's performance in this match is not satisfactory for me because we can see our team is not as strong as Malaysia , as they couldn't vie for the ball. We will improve this in the 60 days before the SEA Games.”

Malaysia 's coach Ong Kim Swee commended the Lao team on its performance.

“This was a big game for Laos because of the new stadium and we can see that the Lao team is better than previously as they made our players so tired tonight.

“Many players in the team were nervous in the earlier games, with the new stadium and many fans, particularly on the first day,” striker Lamnao Singto said.

“So in the second match we were getting better, and then this match we tried hard to win, but could only draw.”

Despite the game ending with a draw and without a goal from Lamnao, thousands of Lao football fans will remember the talented striker who wears jersey No. 8.

After last night's showing, fans hope to see Lamnao lead the team to victory at the upcoming SEA Games in December. They also hope to see their team continue to improve on their performances in the 4-Nations Tournament.

Laos began the tournament with a 2-2 draw with Vietnam and followed this with a crushing 3-0 defeat over Thailand .

In another match yesterday, Thailand defeated Vietnam 3-1. The tournament was intended to include all U-23 teams, but Thailand , Vietnam , and Malaysia confirmed they would replace their U-23 squads with U-19s.

Despite failed hopes to see all four U-23 teams on the field, thousands of Lao football fans attended to cheer on the Lao team at all matches in the new stadium.

The Lao U-23 side is currently preparing for the SEA Games under the expert eye of Austrian coach Mr Alfred Riedl.

The Lao team hopes to battle to the semi finals against a raft of strong opponents at the SEA Games, having never reached this placing at previous games.

However, their latest performance at the 4-Nations Tournament has shown that the Lao team has greatly improved, while also highlighting areas that need more development before taking to the field in the fast-approaching SEA Games.

The 4-Nations was not only a vital warm up for the national football team, but also a test of the new stadium facilities and TV broadcast crew in the lead up to the games.

The next international game for the Lao side will be in Phnom Penh at the Cambodia Royal Cup from November 8-13.

Laos will take on the Cambodian U-23 team, who are also preparing for the SEA Games, and also Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Vissai Ninh Binh football clubs of Vietnam .

The prize at the Cambodia Royal Cup is US$20,000 for the winner and US$10,000 and US$5,000 respectively for runners up.

The event was planned to help strengthen the countries' solidarity and friendly cooperation and mark the 56th anniversary of Cambodian National Day.

By Sisay Vilaysack
Vientianetimes

Standing Deputy Prime Minster and SEA Games Organising Committee Chairman Somsavat Lengsavad has asked the Opening and Closing Committee to prepare a trial run of the two ceremonies for Party and government leaders.

Mr Somsavat said at a committee meeting last Friday that the ceremonies' organising chairman should arrange a two-day performance of the ceremonies for Party and government leaders so they could see what had been prepared for the games in December.

“When I report on the progress made by the organising committee at Party and government meetings, I find people are worried about how the preparations are going because this is the first time we've held a sporting event of this magnitude,” Mr Somsavat explained.

He said he had been asked to show how the committee will pack thousands of people into the National Stadium and how it will coordinate the performances.

“If they can match the performances held in China to celebrate the 60th anniversary of National Day, it will be very good. But I know that China has a lot experience with this kind of event,” Mr Somsavat said.

During the performances, he asked each of the committees involved to test their various roles in the games, as success would depend on how well prepared each section was.

“All sections should make plans to manage their work during the games. For example, traffic officials should keep traffic = the area or on the way to the stadium,” Mr Somsavat said.

Deputy Minister of Information and Culture and Chairman of the SEA Games Opening and Closing Committee, Mr Bouangeun Saphouvong, said the ceremonies will involve performances by thousands of people who are currently rehearsing for the shows.

“We began rehearsals in May and will continue until next month. We are currently holding rehearsals at That Luang esplanade and various schools but hope to soon organise practices at the National Stadium where the games will take place.”

During Friday's meeting Mr Somsavat also said all construction work should be fully completed and events held to test the facilities before the SEA Games begin on December 9.

“All committees must watch this practice event together and see how each performs. If there are any weak points, these must be addressed before the games get underway,” he said.


By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
Vientianetimes

Lao football federation invited the Chonburi club FC and TTM Samut Songkhram of Thailand and Hoang An Gia Lai club from Vietnam to join the warm up match of football championship in preparation for the 25th SEA Games at the end of this year.

Nivat Kaisang, Manager of Lao National Football Team, revealed that the football championship of four teams from three countries will be kicked off from 17-20 September 2009, in which Laos will use the national team that will participate in SEA Games, and famous football clubs from Thailand and Vietnam will be invited to join. The game will be held at the newly built stadium in Champasak province, southern part of Laos.

The objective of the competition is to warm up Lao national team in preparation for the 25th SEA Games, and to build up good relationship between the clubs in Thailand and Vietnam. In the near future, Laos also plan to organize similar football championshiop by inviting thai national team for SEA Games to join the match on October this year.