Everybody knows that for a national side to become successful you need a strong local league but the Thai League is far from falling into that category. The Thailand Premier League is probably behind the leagues in Singapore and Vietnam and both have hired several top Thai players. This may prove that our players are good enough to play in neighbouring countries but it also shows our league can't match the financial power of the S-League and V-League.
Worse is that our own officials have been at odds over the right to organize the Thai league, which has an annual budget of 70 million baht from the government. The league has been organized by a committee chaired by Chaipak Siriwat with the backing of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT). Chaipak has been in charge of the Thailand Premier League because he played a key role in the establishment of the new-look league.
When his associates were in power a couple of years ago, Chaipak successfully sought funds from the government to make the league more attractive with a lucrative prize money package. He has since been chairman of the organizing committee which has hired Siam Sports Syndicate to help run and promote the league. But Worawi Makudi, president of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), feels that the league should be organized by the FAT so the FAT will run the league from next season (2009). But the FAT organized the league in the past with little success so critics feel that the FAT may fail again.
It would be a tough task for Worawi and Co. to make the league stronger and become a true professional football competition. Apart from Chonburi FC, most Thai league sides do not have their own stadiums or fan base. That is why a large number of matches have more players and officials than spectators who pay for tickets. Most clubs belong to government agencies or private companies and do not represent a community so it is difficult for them to have supporters other than their own employees. If you don't like the military, certain state enterprises or companies, how can you support their football teams?
The FAT could face financial difficulties as the government recently cut the budget for next year's Thailand Premier League from 70 million baht to 36 million baht. The slashed 34 million baht has been allocated to a so-called sports TV station, which has been unpopular because many people do not know of its existence. The SAT has promised to find additional funds to maintain the 70 million baht budget for the Thai league. This only proves that most clubs do not have their own income. They still rely heavily on financial support from the government and cannot survive by themselves.
The FAT has to improve the Thailand Premier League as soon as possible or it could decline even further. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has excluded Thailand from the elite group of 14 nations, each of which receives an automatic berth in the AFC Champions League. The AFC cited that many Thai clubs were not run properly and lacked supporters, among other reasons. As a result, the Thai champions will have to play in the qualifying stages from next season.
In the meantime, a recent league match in Nakhon Pathom became chaotic when home supporters attacked the referee after the hosts lost 2-0 to BEC Tero Sasana. The incident took place in front of a Cabinet minister who is an MP for the province. It was not the first time that the match officials were attacked by angry fans or club officials who were upset by decisions against their teams. The latest incident may prove that a Thai League match is not better than a game at a temple fair. Surprisingly, the FAT handed Nakhon Pathom a very slight punishment; a fine of a mere 30,000 baht. It is further proof that the FAT is more like a paper tiger.
Tor Chittinand is the Bangkok Post's football writer. www.bangkokpost.com
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