Singapore’s men’s under-22 football team and distance runner Soh Rui Yong will now compete in the 2025 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, following successful appeals to the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC).
The SNOC confirmed on 28 August that it had met to review additional nominations submitted by national sports associations (NSAs) for the 33rd SEA Games, scheduled to take place in Thailand from 9 to 20 December.
Both Soh and the U-22 football squad were initially excluded from the provisional athlete list for the Games.
In an earlier statement, SNOC said the selection committee had not supported Soh’s nomination due to considerations beyond performance metrics. It noted the importance of athletes upholding “the values and behaviours expected of Singapore’s national representatives”.
Following the appeal, SNOC has approved Soh to compete in the men’s 10,000m and 5,000m events.
In addition, he is one of five athletes identified as candidates for the men’s marathon. The Singapore Athletic Association is expected to select two athletes from this list for final entry into the marathon event.
The men’s under-22 football team has also been added to the updated list, although specific details on their group fixtures or preparations have not yet been released.
SNOC announced that a total of 218 additional athletes from 29 sports have now been approved, joining the 762 athletes previously selected. This brings the overall contingent to 980 athletes across 48 sports.
According to SNOC, this marks the largest contingent Singapore has ever sent to the SEA Games.
“The final contingent will be confirmed and announced closer to the Games, after the completion of the entry-by-name process set out by the SEA Games organisers,” the Council stated on Thursday evening.
The SEA Games is a biennial regional multi-sport event involving participants from 11 Southeast Asian nations. The 2025 edition will be the 33rd iteration and is being hosted by Thailand.
Soh Rui Yong has previously represented Singapore in long-distance events, but his participation in recent editions of the SEA Games has been affected by non-selection due to conduct-related issues, despite meeting qualifying standards.
The reinstatement of Soh and the men’s football team follows calls from various segments of the sporting community for more transparency in the selection process.
While SNOC did not elaborate on the details of the appeals or changes in evaluation, the final selection indicates a broader willingness to include top-performing athletes under revised assessments.
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