Vietnamese National Under-23 team.— Photo vov

HA NOI (VNS)—The schedule for Group A at the SEA Games has been changed after the Philippines confirmed that their squad would not participate.

Chief de mission to the Games Jeff Tamayo was quoted as saying on spin.ph that there appeared to have been a "communications breakdown" when the country was mistakenly included in the draw held in Myanmar on Wednesday.

Tamayo explained that the Philippines had informed the organisers about their absence in early October, but it appeared that message had been overlooked.

Despite the inclusion of the Philippines in the draw, Tamayo said there would not be a men's team taking part at the Games because the deadline for submissions had already elapsed.

As a result, there are now five teams in both Group A and Group B.

In the new schedule, Viet Nam and hosts Malaysia will kick off the event on December 4.

They will next meet Singapore, Laos and Brunei on December 6, 8 and 12, respectively. — VNS