U22 Vietnam has received encouraging news ahead of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), as the team has been seeded in Pot 1 alongside regional powerhouses Thailand and Indonesia.

This seeding grants Vietnam a strategic advantage ahead of the men’s football group stage draw.

The men’s football tournament at SEA Games 33 will feature 11 teams, split into three groups: Group A will have 3 teams, while Groups B and C will each include 4.

Seeding is based on previous tournament results and host nation status. Pot 1 includes Thailand (host, automatically assigned to A1), Indonesia, and Vietnam; Pot 2 includes Myanmar, Malaysia, and Cambodia; Pot 3 features Timor Leste, the Philippines, and Laos; and Pot 4 consists of Singapore and Brunei.

Teams will play in a single round-robin format, with the three group winners and the best-performing runner-up advancing to the semifinals.

This is the first time the SEA Games men’s football competition will feature a three-group format. The change aims to reduce the number of matches per team but increases the intensity of competition.

As the host nation, Thailand will almost certainly be placed in Group A, which includes only three teams - giving them a potentially easier path to the next round.

Group stage matches are scheduled from December 3 to December 12, with semifinals on December 15 and the bronze medal match and final on December 18.

The three venues selected for the tournament are Rajamangala Stadium (Bangkok), Tinsulanonda Stadium (Songkhla), and 700th Anniversary Stadium (Chiang Mai). Rajamangala will host the semifinals and both medal matches.

The women’s football tournament will feature 9 teams, divided equally into three groups of three. Pot 1 includes Thailand (host, A1), Vietnam, and Myanmar; Pot 2 includes Cambodia, the Philippines, and Singapore; and Pot 3 features Malaysia, Laos, and Indonesia.

The women’s competition follows the same format and timeline: group stage from December 4 to 13, semifinals on December 14, and bronze medal and final matches on December 17. Chonburi and TNSU Chonburi Stadiums are designated for group-stage matches, with Chonburi hosting the final rounds.

During a meeting held on May 21 in Bangkok, the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) also approved the schedule for the remainder of 2025 and major tournaments in 2026.

Key tournaments include:

AFF Women’s Championship 2025, hosted by Vietnam from August 6 to 19
AFF U23 Championship 2025, hosted by Indonesia from July 15 to 29
ASEAN Cup 2026, tentatively set from July 25 to August 26
ASEAN Club Championship 2025–26, running from August 2025 to May 2026

Dai Nam