2007 Sea games closing ceremony held at Korat

Lao people living across the country will have a chance to see Live broadcast of the 25th SEA GAMES thanks to the cooperation between the Lao national televition and the Lao star channel.

The 25th SEA Games is tentatively set at December 13-21 in Vientiane, Laos. The other areas of focus will be at Luangprabang and Savannakhet province.At present, $46-million is set for the main stadium, $6 million for the training facility and a new hotel to house an expected figure of 2,500 athletes from 11 southeast asian nations.

In anticipation of a newly created golf course, the Laos Golf Federation is now planning the golf tournament, one of many events in the 25 th SEA Games to be held in Vientiane next year. Although the medal winning chances for Laos are meagre as the team lacks international experience and sufficient skills, the federation is still encouraging improvements. It is also looking for a professional coach to train the team for the games. “The Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation based in Australia will provide financial assistance so that the Lao golf team can participate in the SEA Games,” said the General Secretary of the Lao Golf Federation, Mr Songkham Silaphet. The Booyoung Company of the Republic of Korea granted about 50 billion kip (US$5 million) for the creation of a 27-hole golf course of international standard on about 150 hectares of land at Km18 in Vientiane . The golf course is now 30 percent complete and it is expected it will be finished well ahead of the games. The Korean company has signed a contract with the Asean Civil Road and Bridge Construction Company of Laos to design and create the golf course. The company will provide further funding to build amenities such as a restaurant and hotel around the course, to attract tourists. After the close of the games, the Booyoung Company will release a second grant to extend the course by an additional 60 hectares. This will make it a total of 210 hectares with 45 holes. “The golf course will surely attract more tourists to Laos which will increase national revenue. We will also be able to organise more professional golf tournaments,” Mr Songkham said. The federation's organising committee will form a new body to select its new president at the end of this month. The committee will organise the training of youngsters below the age of 25 in preparation for the games. “We still lack a qualified coach with both theoretical knowledge and knowledge of physical training techniques. We need to train young players and bring them up to international standard. Also we are still looking for more sponsors who can offer financial support to the Lao team,” Mr Songkham said. The city's existing golf course at Km 14 is not of sufficient standard for international tournament play, although Lao players were able to prepare themselves for the 24 th SEA Games in Thailand last December.

The Lao National Sports Committee on Tuesday met with officials from those national sporting federations that are not expected to pick up medals at the 25 th SEA Games, to be held in Vientiane in 2009.

The meeting, convened to discuss possible improvements to the country's sporting competency, was attended by the Vice President of the Lao National Sports Committee, Mr Somphou Phongsa, and officials from the golf, bowling, snooker, karatedo, swimming, football, athletics, badminton and tennis federations, amongst others.

“Every sporting federation must have a main sponsor that will support preparations for the games and organise the selection of our best athletes,” said Mr Somphou.

“Each federation must be equipped with an experienced adjudicator, trainer and team, and have secured sufficient funding to support the country's efforts at the games,” he said.

Athletes from a number of sporting disciplines are currently not performing at a level that will ensure success at the SEA Games. These teams were without medals at the 24 th SEA Games held in Thailand last year, and without improvements in training and skills, will find it difficult to compete at the international level again next year, warned Mr Somphou.

Teams competing in petanque, judo, Muay Thai, taekwondo, wushu, sepak takraw, wrestling, boxing, karatedo, pencak silat and rugby, however, are expected to go on to even greater heights, after winning five gold, seven silver, and 32 bronze medals at last year's games.

Despite disappointing results at last year's SEA Games in Thailand , Russian coach Valeri Vdovin has agreed to manage the under-23 national football team once more, according to the Lao Football Federation yesterday.

This is the third time that Mr Vdovin has managed the U-23 team's appearances in the Southeast Asian Games.

He first led the U-23 squad to the SEA Games in 2005 in the Philippines , and then to the games last year in Thailand . Unfortunately, the team was knocked out in the first round on both occasions.

The President of the Lao Football Federation, Mr Kasem Inthara, told the Vientiane Times yesterday “The federation and the National Sports Committee have decided to recall Russian coach Vdovin to Laos , even though he has so far failed to get the team past the first round at the SEA Games.”

“Mr Vdovin has confirmed he will arrive in Vientiane by the beginning of April and will then start to train the players. His contract with the Lao Football Federation will run until the end of the 2009 SEA Games.”

“He will not only lead the U-23 team in the SEA Games, but will also coach the senior national team for the Challenge Cup which is organised by the Asian Football Confederation in May in Kyrgyzstan . Another big event is the qualifying round of this year's Asean Cup in October in Cambodia ,” Mr Kasem said.

In the 2005 SEA Games, Laos beat Myanmar 3-2 and lost 2-8 to Vietnam , 0-1 to Singapore and 0-4 to Indonesia .

In the 2007 SEA Games, the U-23 squad's victory hopes were again squashed in the first round after a goalless draw against Singapore followed by losses of 0-4 to Malaysia and 1-2 to Vietnam