The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) has formally apologized to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and the Vietnamese public after mistakenly displaying the wrong Vietnamese national flag during the draw ceremony for the 2025 AFF U16 and U19 Futsal Championships.

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FAT Vice President delivers an apology letter to VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan. Photo: VFF

On the afternoon of October 29, a FAT delegation led by Vice President Adisak Benjasiriwan met with VFF leadership to provide an official explanation and deliver an apology on behalf of FAT President Nualphan Lamsam (Madam Pang). The meeting was attended by Mr. Winston Lee, Secretary General of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).

During the meeting, Mr. Benjasiriwan read aloud a letter of apology from Madam Pang, expressing deep regret and offering a sincere apology for the flag error at the draw event held in Bangkok on October 28.

“We fully acknowledge the seriousness of this mistake and accept full responsibility for the incident,” the letter stated.

“The Football Association of Thailand has immediately taken corrective measures, reviewed internal processes, and tightened event organization procedures to ensure such errors do not occur again.”

Madam Pang also extended apologies to the VFF, AFF, and all related stakeholders, emphasizing FAT’s appreciation for Vietnam’s continued support and reiterating Thailand’s commitment to maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and mutual respect in all AFF-hosted events.

In response, VFF leadership acknowledged the sincerity of the FAT’s apology and appreciated the respectful, responsible, and constructive approach taken by the Thai delegation.

VFF reiterated that the incident was a serious mistake and serves as an important lesson for improving professionalism in organizing international sporting events within the AFF system.

FAT representatives pledged to prevent similar incidents in the future and expressed their wish to continue strengthening cooperation with VFF to promote the sustainable and professional development of football in Southeast Asia.

On the evening of October 28, FAT’s official Facebook page also posted a public apology, stating: “We sincerely hope the Vietnam Football Federation and the Vietnamese people will accept our apology and understand that this was an unintentional human error, not an act of disrespect toward Vietnam.”

“This is an important lesson for us to act with greater caution and responsibility in all organizational processes and uphold the highest expectations that AFF places on us as hosts.”

Dai Nam