The Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. The games are under regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supervision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia.
The 27th Southeast Asian Games are scheduled to be held in Naypyidaw, the new capital of Myanmar, as well as in two other main cities, Yangon and Mandalay, December 11-22, 2013.
History of the SEA Games
The Southeast Asian Games owes its origins to the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games or SEAP Games. On 22 May 1958, delegates from the countries in Southeast Asian peninsula attending the Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan had a meeting and agreed to establish a sport organization. The SEAP Games was conceptualized by Luang Sukhumnaipradit, then Vice-President of the Thailand Olympic Committee. It was thought that sports could be used as a medium to promote cooperation, understanding and relations among countries in the Southeast Asian region.
IFMA acted as the world sanctioning body for amateur Muaythai during the Chiang Mai 18th SEA Games in 1995. A wonderful milestone was achieved in 2005 at the Manila 23rd SEA Games, when, for the first time, Muaythai was included as a fully recognised sport for both male and female competitors.
