Friday's re-election of 30 representatives from the Regional League (Division Two, third tier) is largely being seen as a shot in the arm for former national police chief Somyot Poompunmuang in his bid to take over the Football Association of Thailand's top office.
Somyot Poompunmuang during a recent friendly football match.
Those elected on Friday will cast their ballots in next month’s FAT presidential election.
At the Feb 11 election, they will join the other 42 voters — 18 each from the Thai Premier League (TPL) and League One (second tier) and six from minor competitions — to pick a new FAT chief to succeed suspended incumbent president Worawi Makudi.
Pol Gen Somyot and former national football team coach Charnwit Phalajivin are expected to battle it out for the post.
The other four candidates — Thavatchai Sajakul, Pinit Sasinin, Natthapol Teepsuwan and Chaisap Tharat Rittem — are ranked outsiders.
Somyot is backed by TPL giants Buriram United, Chonburi and Bangkok Glass as well as King Power Group, which owns English Premier League side Leicester City.
Charnwit is seen as Worawi’s proxy as the latter is ineligible to stand in the election because he is suspended by Fifa from all football activities for breaching the ethical code of the world football’s governing body.
It is believed that the 30-vote regional bloc will be the decisive factor in the Feb 11 election as Somyot and Charnwit reportedly have roughly the same number of voters from the top two leagues in their hands.
Friday’s election was a success for Somyot’s camp as it is understood that almost all — if not all — elected regional voters back the former national police boss.
When Worawi was in power, the 30 regional voters were elected ahead of the original FAT presidential election scheduled for Oct 17.
Worawi’s opponents cried foul and called for a new election of the regional voters. The situation became chaotic, leading to Fifa's intervention.
Just days before that election, Fifa issued orders to suspend Worawi, call off the election and appoint a ‘normalisation committee’ chaired by Adm Surawut Maharom to organise a new FAT election.
The outcome of Friday’s election saw only two clubs retain their voting rights for the Feb 11 polls.
“All Somyot’s [supporters],” Komchadluek newspaper, a vocal critic of Worawi, said in its headline yesterday.
Thai Rath, some of whose reporters apparently support Worawi, said in its report yesterday that the majority of the elected regional voters are those who back Somyot.
The original Oct 17 election had been seen as a formality for Worawi, but the situation has changed drastically since Fifa’s intervention.
After Fifa issued the orders, Somyot declared that he would stand in the re-arranged FAT presidential election.
Following his announcement, made at a Bangkok hotel owned by King Power Group in a high-profile press conference, several clubs, including Bangkok Glass, switched their allegiance to him.
It is feared that the Feb 11 election may not take place as certain people are campaigning against the normalisation committee, saying that its chief Surawut is biased.
They have threatened to file lawsuits at home and with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Surawut and Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) governor Sakol Wannapong have warned that troubles in the run-up to the election could lead to the country facing suspension by Fifa, which has banned Indonesia and Kuwait for their government’s interference in domestic football.
However, it is not likely that Thailand will be suspended as Surawut is backed by the sport’s global governing body.
The current situation is similar to the build-up to the 2013 FAT presidential election which was hit by protests and lawsuits and finally won by Worawi.
Worawi’s opponents claimed he unlawfully changed the election rules but Worawi argued that he had to do so to be in line with Fifa’s statute.
At that time, Worawi was still a Fifa executive member and backed by the governing body which sent its representatives to Bangkok to offer an explanation on why Worawi had to change the electoral rules for the polls.
The roles have been reversed now as Fifa is throwing its weight behind Surawut.
It recently assigned a representative to travel to Bangkok to give the nod to Surawut’s move for the re-election of the 30 regional voters.
Some observers says it’s karma for Worawi, who lost his seat in Fifa’s executive committee last year.
Fifa was on his side in the previous election but now it seems to be against him, and this should augur well for Somyot.