The success of the South East Asian Games has prompted officials to suggest a Cambodian bid for the Youth Olympics ©Getty Images

Cambodia is capable of staging the Summer Youth Olympic Games after successfully hosting the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, which came to an end last week, it has been claimed.

The endorsement came from Thailand Olympic Committee vice-president Supitr Samahito following the Games in Phnom Penh.

"The way they have managed all aspects of the Games, such as transportation and, especially, the sports village, has been very impressive," Supitr said.

“This is the first time for Cambodia to host the SEA Games and I believe they have the sports facilities, the stadiums and the gymnasiums to continue this development."

The Asian Youth Games are set for Uzbekistan capital Tashkent in 2025, but Cambodia is to host them in 2029.

"The Asian Youth Games in 2029 will be very good for Cambodia because now they have this good experience from the SEA Games," Supitr said.

"They have learned a lot from this first-time hosting, and the Asian Youth Games is still six years away, so they have time to prepare and to train their people,

"After that they can think about the Asian Games and also an IOC event such as the Youth Olympic Games."

The Athletes' Village built for the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia was among the facilities praised by competitors and officials ©Getty Images
The Athletes' Village built for the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia was among the facilities praised by competitors and officials ©Getty Images

The first two Summer Youth Olympic Games were both held in Asia.

The series was inaugurated at Singapore in 2010 and the Chinese city of Nanjing followed them as hosts in 2014.

“The Youth Olympic Games involves only around 3,000 athletes so this is a good-sized Games for Cambodia to host,” Supitr insisted.

"They can be looking to do that in the future, maybe in 10 years, the sports venues are enough and they will be well prepared,”

The 2010 Games in Singapore were the first of two Summer Youth Olympics held on the Asian continent ©Getty Images
The 2010 Games in Singapore were the first of two Summer Youth Olympics held on the Asian continent ©Getty Images

A total of 5,000 competitors from 11 nations took part in the SEA Games.

They featured 36 medal sports and a demonstration event, more than would be required at the Youth Olympics.

"I believe it is a step-by-step process," Supitr said.

The next Summer Youth Olympic Games were due to take place in 2022 but postponed as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic and are now set to take place in Senegal's capital Dakar in 2026.

The next Winter Youth Olympic Games are set to be hosted in Gangwon in South Korea using many of the facilities built for Pyeongchang 2018.