Are you Game? Three weeks on from arguably the most incident packed election in the Thai FA’s history but there seemed to be no light at the end of tunnel yet. It was nearly half a year that the Football Association of Thailand was left power vacuum before the long overdue election took place to find a new head of Thai football in mid October. As it turned out, Worawi Makudi successfully retained his post for fourth consecutive term by beating challenger Virach Chanpanich. Rather than returning to the normalcy after the end of the vote that had been delayed from originally-scheduled date in mid June, things remained in stagnant state at the Thai FA. With the poll tainted by a spate of allegations of wrongdoings, the governing body Sports Authority of Thailand has yet to approve Worawi’s victory. It even became more complicated when the dispute from the controversial vote was brought to the court. Thai club Pattaya FC, which play in the lower echelons of Thai football, filed a lawsuit against Worawi and FAT general secretary Ong-art Kohsinkha. The criminal court already accepted the case in which the two were accused of abusing the power by using fraudulent documents, with the hearing due to take place in January. Pattaya’s latest court action came hot on the heel of another lawsuit they filed with the Central Administrative Court in an attempt to get the election outcome declared void. However, the court has yet to rule whether the case came under its jurisdiction. No one can tell when Worawi, who turns 62 later this month, could get back to work in the post he has held since 2007. More worryingly, none could tell what would happen should the court handed the ruling in favour of Pattaya. The current situation did little good to the Thai football as a whole. November and December are crucial months for the national team. The senior side are due to take on group leaders Iran at home in a make-or-break match this Friday in the Asian Cup qualifiers, while the under-23 team will try to reclaim the SEA Games title in Myanmar next month. With the Thai FA still unable to put its house in order, it seemed inevitable that there was a big question mark hanging over the Thai team’s preparations for the upcoming fixtures. Who can say that things go as well as when the FAT is there to provide support in preparing the team? It does not bode well for the Thais’ prospect, especially in the biennial tournament, SEA Games. People have high hopes that the Thai side, the most successful team in the Games’ history, could regain the title after two successive group stage exits. Given the current circumstances, there appeared to be more chances for the Thais to fail again in Myanmar, though. And, how frustrating it is if we have to pay the price with the team’s failure for the off-the field matter.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 11:35:27 +0000
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