Southeast Asia Rugby Federation Formed

On May 17 2025, 7 ASEAN countries formed the Southeast Asia Rugby Federation and appointed Pol. Lt. Col. Kunthon Prachuabmoh as the first president of the Southeast Asia Rugby Federation.

Photo Credit – TRU

The chairman position will rotate according to the host of the SEA Games, and we were first told about the ambitions to form the new federation at the HSBC Singapore SVNS 2025, but we were not entirely sure what the aims or purpose are. Also, would the Southeast Asia Rugby Federation not need to be recognised by Asia Rugby if they are hoping to have a bloc of influence?

The statement released by the Thailand Rugby Union (TRU) added that the president of the Malaysian Rugby Association is the vice president, and Mr. Sahapol Polpathapee is the secretary-general of the Southeast Asia Rugby Federation.

SEA Games and Rugby Sevens

Pol. Lt. Col. Kunthon Prachuabmoh said he wants every country to have a rugby team to be included in the SEA Games every time there is a competition. It should be noted that countries not included in the new Federation are Myanmar (ongoing conflict and no rugby federation), Vietnam (no rugby federation) and Cambodia, which does have the Cambodia Rugby Federation (CFR) but has been stagnant in promoting any rugby development for years (in our opinion).

SEA Games hosts determine which sports are included, and the last time the SEA Games included Rugby 7s was in 2019 in the Philippines. Since then, we have had the pandemic, and Vietnam and Cambodia hosted, but neither has had rugby due to the reasons above. This was critical as so many unions in SEA rely on funding from their Olympic Committees, and not having the sport included was a financial setback, but also denied them valuable tournament experience.

In 2025, Thailand hosts the SEA Games, and the sport has been included, with the next two hosts being Malaysia (2027) and Singapore (2029), and rugby more than likely will feature again.

The Southeast Asia Rugby Federation said this is one of the main reasons why the member nations, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, and Brunei, have joined together.

Sunny Seah, President of the Singapore Rugby Union, said, “Rugby is growing fast in Southeast Asia. With this federation, we’re not only building better systems and competitions – we’re strengthening our identity as a rugby region and ensuring our athletes have more opportunities to thrive.”

Photo Credit – TRU Pol. Lt. Col. Kunthan Prachuabmoh, President of the Rugby Football Association of Thailand and President of Southeast Asia Rugby Federation 2025

Pol. Lt. Col. Kunthan Prachuabmoh, President of the Rugby Football Association of Thailand, Pol. Col. Supachart Pieammanas, Vice President of the Association, Mr. Sahapol Phonpatpee, Chairman of the International Affairs Department, Mr. Nattapol Hem-u, Chairman of the Registrar Department, Mr. Rojan Phutthakun, Chairman of the Benefits Department, and Mr. Panithan Prachuabmoh, Sub-Committee of the Association, as well as Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, and Brunei, sent representatives to attend the general meeting.

They have agreed that the Southeast Asia Rugby Federation president’s role will rotate according to the host of the SEA Games.

Pol. Lt. Col. Kunthan also said via the TRU that they want to “join hands with ASEAN countries that are strong in rugby to help some countries that do not have rugby, to help them learn and get to know more about rugby. Finally, we want to create strength as a group of ASEAN countries for the greatest benefit in Asian rugby or World Rugby.”

Ada Milby, President of the Philippine Rugby Football Union, said via the PRFU, “This is a significant step forward. As individual unions, we’ve achieved a lot, but through SEARF, we can pool knowledge, align strategies, and open new doors for players, coaches, and officials throughout Southeast Asia.”

The PRFU said via a statement that the SEARF Charter outlines core objectives are:

• Organising annual regional competitions in 7s and 15s formats
• Coordinating collective engagement with Asia Rugby and World Rugby
• Promoting the inclusion of Rugby 7s in every Southeast Asian Games
• Providing shared technical, medical, and administrative resources across unions
• Supporting countries currently without rugby programs to launch and grow the game

It is no secret that several unions in the region have been unsatisfied with the leadership and direction of Asia Rugby over recent years.

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