Kick-off for a fresh start in Thai football

The long wait is over for Thai football fans. After almost a decade under the influence of one man, Worawi Makudi, the troubled-plagued Football Association of Thailand offers supporters a glimpse of hope with the induction of newly elected president Somyos Poompunmuang. 

Online and in the streets, the fans “raised the roof” in celebration at the changing of the guard and now hope for nothing less than a revolution in the way business is conducted.

Somyos, a former police chief, arrives on the scene just as Thai football is facing a crisis of trust. On the pitch, the national team is in form and the premier league is functioning well. In terms of management, however, it’s been “a different ball game”, as it were. 

During the Worawi era, nepotism was the norm and many a fan lost faith in the sport as it plays out here. Problem after problem accumulated and supporters were left in despair.

The new president has been humble about the prospects, admitting he’s no expert on football, but he surely knows a thing or two. He’s identified the issues and the shortcomings in a way that has struck a chord with the fans. 

Central to Somyos’ policy is boosting the national league to the next level. He’s vowed to crack down on referees accepting bribes and anyone else caught cheating. Wayward referees will be banned for life, he says. The league has long suffered from poor refereeing and from the ugly crowd response it sparks – the menace of violent hooliganism.

With his police background, Somyos certainly seems to be the right man for the job, and a crackdown in Thai football will be as welcome as a crackdown on urban crime, provided it’s handled with unimpeachable fairness. It’s well known that Somyos won his post in one of the most divisive elections the association has ever witnessed, and that he’s backed by Buriram United, Chonburi and Bangkok Glass, three giants of the Thai Premier League. That SCG Muang Thong United and BEC Tero Sasana, both closely linked to the old powers under Worawi, are not keen on Somyos says a lot about the rift in the game, of which Somyos is undoubtedly a part.

For all the challenges ahead of him, the new president’s ultimate responsibility is to represent every club, regardless of allegiances, as well as all of the officials and fans. He must not repeat the mistakes of his predecessor and yield to the temptation of nepotism. Eliminating cheating will only be seen as a victory if everyone sees it handled fairly.

Somyos has pledged to fix the bad and keep the good. One of a few “goods” is national team coach Kiatisak Senamuang, a popular boss who plans to remain in the job. With people like Kiatisak involved, Somyos will have an easier task achieving his ambition – every fan’s ambition – of seeing the national squad play in the World Cup. It will also be a simpler job if he quickly clears away the irregularities that plague the sport in Thailand.

Somyos wants to borrow ideas from the structuring of the English Premier League by setting up a corporation. It would maximise the benefits for the game’s big achievers and trickle down income to develop the lower-tier leagues. Broadcasting rights are worth Bt4.2 billion and that figure is steadily rising. The new president hopes to renegotiate those rights and all association deals, including sponsorships and merchandising, with the utmost transparency. He plans to leave untouched all current deals that are perceived as fair. 

If Somyos can deliver on all that he promises, it’s quite possible that Thai football will be on track to achieve unprecedented success.

Of course it’s too early to say if the new boss can pull this off, but certainly, in his case, time is a luxury that cannot be wasted. Like other football fans around the world, Thais can be precipitously impatient, and unfortunately Worawi wasted far too much time while accomplishing precious little.