Thai Football Association president Nualphan Lamsam (L) presents flowers to Vietnam’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Thailand, Pham Viet Hung, at the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok on the afternoon of Oct. 30, 2025. Photo courtesy of FAT
Thai Football Association (FAT) president Nualphan Lamsam, better known as Madam Pang, visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok to personally apologize after Vietnam’s flag was mistakenly replaced with China’s during the draw for the ASEAN U19 Boys’ Futsal Championship.
Madam Pang met with Vietnam’s Ambassador to Thailand Pham Viet Hung at around 3 p.m. on Oct. 30, offering flowers and a formal apology to the Vietnamese people and the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF). She said she understood the disappointment the incident caused and hoped for forgiveness, stressing that the mistake was entirely unintentional.
“FAT holds the highest respect for every national flag, the symbol of dignity and honor,” she said.
According to FAT, Ambassador Hung appreciated Madam Pang’s sincerity and quick action to address the issue, confirming it was an unintentional error made by the event organizers.
A day earlier, FAT also sent a delegation to Hanoi led by Vice President Adisak Benjasiriwan to deliver an official apology to VFF, witnessed by ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Secretary-General Winston Lee.
VFF acknowledged the apology, praising FAT’s proactive and respectful response. It said the mix-up serves as a valuable lesson to improve professionalism in international event management within AFF’s system.
The error occurred during a 10-minute portion of the Oct. 28 draw ceremony organized by FAT, when Vietnam’s name was displayed alongside China’s flag. FAT quickly deleted the video and issued a statement taking full responsibility. VFF later sent an urgent protest letter to AFF and FAT, warning the incident could harm Vietnam’s national image and ASEAN unity.
A special investigation committee formed by FAT later determined the error originated from the event’s organizing team, not from AFF or FAT leadership.
Similar flag mistakes have happened before in Southeast Asian sports, most notably when Indonesia’s flag was printed upside down at the 2017 and 2023 SEA Games. In 2017, Malaysia’s sports minister personally met his Indonesian counterpart to apologize.
The 2025 ASEAN U19 Futsal Championship will be held from Dec. 23 to 29 in Nonthaburi, Thailand, featuring seven teams: Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia and Cambodia. Vietnam will compete in Group A alongside host Thailand and Brunei.