Members of the Timor Leste football team sleep at the airport after waiting for hours. Photo taken from ASEAN Football News Facebook page
MANILA, Philippines—The country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games is in hot water anew after drawing flak from several participating teams a week before the regional multi-sport event formally opens.
National teams from Cambodia, Timor Leste, Myanmar all claimed to have encountered mishaps upon their arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Saturday, as per the ASEAN Football News Facebook page.
Photos making rounds on social media show members of the Cambodian team sleeping on floors while guests from Timor Leste claimed they waited for several hours for their shuttle to come but only to be taken to the wrong hotel.
In a separate post, Thailand also had its own mishaps. The team complained it had to cancel the first day of training due to heavy traffic. They also called out the organizers for the lack of rooms resulting to fitting in three people in one room.
The Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) on Sunday issued an apology regarding the matter, which they attributed to “confusion regarding their transportation and hotel arrangements”
READ: PH SEA Games organizer sorry for transport, accommodation problems
“We sincerely apologize to our athlete guests from Timor-Leste, Myanmar and Cambodia for the inconvenience caused to them by the confusion regarding their transportation and hotel arrangements,” the statement said.
“While PHISGOC strives to ensure proper coordination of the arrival details, airport welcome and transportation provisions of all international teams to their respective assigned hotels, we acknowledge our shortcomings in this particular incident and vow to do better.”
The Games officially open on Saturday at Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.