A total of 39 sports along with teqball have been confirmed for the SEA Games after receiving the approval of the Southeast Asian Games Federation Council in the Cambodian capital.

The decision is another big boost for teqball, which is set to feature in several multi-sport events next year including the European Games in Kraków-Małopolska.

It is also on the programme as a medal sport at the 2023 Asian Beach Games in Sanya, and as a demonstration sport at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Bangkok and Chonburi, which has been postponed until 2023 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Confirmation of its status for Cambodia 2023 comes after International Federation of Teqball (FITEQ) officials met with 10 National Olympic Committees at this year’s delayed SEA Games in Hanoi about the prospect of the sport featuring at the next edition of the event.

Teqball’s selection as a demonstration will also be viewed as another step towards FITEQ’s ambition of becoming an Olympic sport.

Cricket is another notable inclusion in SEA Games’ programme for Cambodia 2023 after being left off the list in 2019 and 2022.

The sport is set to make its first appearance since the 2017 Games in Kuala Lumpur where athletes contested in 50-over and Twenty20 competitions.

Athletics and aquatics are the two compulsory sports for the 2023 Games.

They will be joined by badminton, basketball, snooker and billiards, boxing, traditional boat race, chess, cricket, cycling, dancesports, football, fencing, golf, gymnastics, hockey, judo, karate, kun khmer, pétanque, sailing, sepak takraw, silat, soft tennis, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, endurance race, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu.

It has also been confirmed that body building, esports, finswimming, floorball, jet ski, various other martial arts and obstacle racing will feature.

Phnom Penh is scheduled to stage the SEA Games from May 5 to 16 in 2023.