By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 18: The 34th SEA Games 2027 will feature an expanded sporting programme, with five new sports, including dancesport, ice hockey, kabaddi, padel and teqball, added to the competition roster, bringing the total number of contested sports to 43.
The Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) Council approved the final sports programme during its Second SEAGF Council Meeting for the 2025–2027 term at Sunway Resort Hotel yesterday (July 17).
Chinlone will also be included as a discipline under sepak takraw, while polo will be contested under equestrian.
The approval marks the completion of the sports selection process ahead of Malaysia hosting the biennial Games from Sept 18 to 29, 2027.
SEAGF and Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) secretary-general Datuk Nasir Ali said the decision means the SEA Games 2027 sports programme has now been finalised.
Malaysia had earlier secured approval for 38 sports during the first SEAGF Council Meeting last April. National Olympic Committees from member countries were subsequently invited to submit appeals for additional sports, with 30 appeals received before the May 8 deadline.
Following discussions between SEAGF and the Malaysia SEA Games Organising Committee (MASOC), five additional sports were approved.
MASOC chief executive officer Datuk Rashid Yaakub said Friday’s meeting was the final opportunity for amendments to be made to the sports programme.
“This meeting was the last one for the SEAGF Council to approve the total number of sports. Now, there are officially 43 sports and this decision is final,” he said in a report by the Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas) today.
He added that venues for the original 38 sports have been confirmed, while discussions are ongoing with Sarawak and Penang to host several of the newly added sports.
“So far, the venues for 38 sports have been confirmed. We are currently negotiating with Sarawak and Penang regarding several additional sports, although most will still be held in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
The polo events are expected to be held in Kuala Lumpur, while MASOC is expected to announce the full list of disciplines and medal events by September.
Spanning four clusters, Sarawak, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor, the 34th SEA Games will mark Malaysia’s seventh time hosting the regional sporting event. — DayakDaily
