Thai football kicked in guts by arrogant politicking  

Whoever becomes the new coach of the Thai national football team, we shouldn’t expect a miracle overnight. Last week Kiatisak Senamuang resigned from the hot seat after devastating defeats in World Cup qualifiers and public humiliation by Football Association president Somyot Poompanmoung, who declared himself “ashamed” by and unable to accept the results. Thai football, so often beset by storms in its evolution, has reached another crossroads.
Much has been said and speculated about apparent conflicts between Kiatisak and Somyot and which of them was more to blame for shattering our collective national World Cup dream. It all boils down to the fact that a fresh start is in order after the Thai team failed in their second attempt to move from the last of the qualifying rounds into the World Cup finals. Meanwhile Somyot’s public demeaning of Kiatisak has divided opinions severely.
One thing is certain: For Thailand to reach the World Cup finals, they need more than “just” a great coach. 
Kiatisak, a former star striker affectionately known among fans as “Zico”, was responsible only for short-term development and tactics on the pitch. It fell to other people, not least Somyot and his colleagues in the upper tiers, to lay the groundwork for sustainable, long-term advances. Fostering and developing local talent is the direct responsibility of the Football Association, which has been plagued by bitter politicking both within and without.
Kiatisak deserves credit for several of the national team’s achievements and he cannot be blamed for developments that have proved detrimental to the squad, such the influx of foreign players. That phenomenon may have helped boost the popularity of the Thai Premier League, but it hindered the recruitment and development of local talent. Ticket racketeering, bad and corrupt referees and fan violence were obviously beyond his control as well. These are all problems slowing progress in the sport here.
The national team sorely needs a comprehensive plan that will be effectively and fairly executed, and without politicisation. Somyot and his allies had said they saw no sense in sending someone to hunt specific animals if they had no experience tracking those creatures. It was an analogy that seemed to target Kiatisak’s lack of World Cup experience and might seem rational – except that the FA has no World Cup experience either.
With his resignation, Kiatisak has taken responsibility for recent setbacks, so the onus is on those who remain in the Thai football mechanism to gather up the shards of our shattered dream and begin rebuilding hope. Working in their favour is the fact that our players have indeed made remarkable progress, however interrupted it’s been by prominent defeats at the hands of continental giants. The bad news is that the progress was made in spite of, rather than because of, the mechanism that’s supposed to be supporting them and propelling them forward. People who can barely kick a ball are pursuing the same old destructive politics that inevitably slows the team down.
Somyot has much more to prove than “Zico” did. Thai football needs overseers who have genuine love for the game, not people who seek out public positions just to decorate their resumes. Kiatisak has always loved the game, as was obvious in his passion as a player and his enthusiasm as the national team’s coach. The same can’t be said about the people left behind, still in charge of the nation’s World Cup ambitions. It is these people who will determine Thai football’s course. If they’re sincere about their stated aims, they must be prepared to make real sacrifices – and to cease the politicking.