The draw for the football competition at the 25th Southeast Asian Games, to be held in Vientiane in December, has handed the Cambodian Under-23 team a particularly tough challenge in Group A.Not only will they face eight-time gold medallists Thailand, but also Vietnam, Malaysia and Timor-Leste. In Group B, hosts Laos will meet Myanmar, Singapore and Indonesia. The football will begin a week earlier than the rest of the competitions on December 2, and the nine competing countries will all field their U23 national teams. Two teams from each group will progress to the semifinals in the second week. Brunei have been banned by FIFA, while the Philippines are not fielding a team in the football category.