AFF finalizes plan to use U22 players in the 2017 SEA Games.

The decision was just approved at today's meeting of the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) Council.

"The AFF Council has decided that the age limit for male football players participating in the 2017 SEA Games will be under 22. Next week, the AFF will submit a proposal to the Southeast Asian Sports Council on this matter," said Tran Quoc Tuan, Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), immediately after leaving a meeting in Sydney today.

This decision by the AFF still needs to be approved at another meeting of the Southeast Asian Sports Council and the organizing committee of the 2017 SEA Games. But according to Mr. Tuan, it is almost certain that the new regulation on the age limit for men's football at the SEA Games will be approved.

There is still another meeting of the Southeast Asian Sports Council to be held, but the prospects for the generation of players like Cong Phuong to participate in the 2017 SEA Games are very bright. Photo: Duc Dong.

Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan, in his capacity as Head of the AFF Competition Committee, was the one who proposed using U22 players from the 2017 SEA Games. During a meeting in India at the end of November, the Vice President of the VFF analyzed the continuity in FIFA's competition system and suggested that instead of selecting U21 players for the 2017 SEA Games, countries could use U22 players to ensure continuity and provide a roadmap for national teams to prepare their squads.

This proposal stemmed from the Vietnamese football administrators' desire to utilize the talented generation of players like Cong Phuong, Tuan Anh, and Xuan Truong... to achieve the gold medal in men's football at the SEA Games – a glory that Vietnam has never reached. Malaysia disagreed with this approach, but through lobbying and negotiations, Mr. Tuan persuaded the AFF Council to approve the proposal. With the age limit for the 2017 SEA Games raised from U21 to U22, Cong Phuong and Tuan Anh were still eligible to participate.

According to VNE