The Cambodia U23 football team in Manila "had to wait maybe like eight, nine hours" to get their hotel. (Photo: Facebook/ASEAN Football News)
Southeast Asian Games host the Philippines apologised on Sunday after some arriving athletes were left stranded for hours at the airport or were driven to the wrong hotel, a logistical snafu that drew criticism just days before the competition starts.
Athletes have begun flying into Manila ahead of Saturday’s opening, but for Cambodia and East Timor’s football squads the arrival was not what they were expecting.
Cambodia wait for hours
“We had to wait maybe like eight, nine hours to get our hotel,” Coach Felix Dalmas of Cambodia told a press conference on Sunday, adding that they had also waited hours for the shuttle service.
Photos of members of the Cambodian football team sleeping on the carpet circulated on social media. Reports said they had no choice because their accommodation was not yet ready.
East Timor’s team was driven to the wrong hotel, complicating their arrival and training schedules. “All nations deserve respect and what happened yesterday was not so beautiful,” East Timor’s coach Fabiano Flora told reporters.
The Philippines SEA Games organising committee offered an explanation of the hiccups, putting the blame on a last-minute change in travel plans and the afternoon check-in time of the hotel.
“We sincerely apologise to our athlete guests . . . for the inconvenience caused to them by the confusion,” the committee said in a statement. “We . . . vow to do better.”
“As to the Cambodian football team, their change in arrival details was relayed late to the PHISGOC Games Services Department. Instead of the arrival time initially relayed to PHISGOC, the Cambodian team arrived in NAIA at 4am. Transportation was immediately provided, but since their hotel rooms were not yet available because the standard check-in time is 2pm, PHISGOC requested that the team be allowed to wait at an air-conditioned private hotel conference room with tables and chairs where the members could rest and feel comfortable while waiting for their rooms.”
Meanwhile, Thailand’s football team – which also waited for hours at the airport for the right documents – had to change their training plans because the hotel was too far from the venue.
Coach Akira Nishino said they opted to work out in the streets near the hotel instead of spending hours travelling.
AFP, with additional reporting by the Philippine Daily Inquirer
