Let there be peace after FAT election

Let there be peace after FAT election

A couple of weeks ago, the race to replace suspended Football Association of Thailand (FAT) president Worawi Makudi seemed to have all the ingredients to make this week's election a mouth-watering affair.

Somyot Poompunmuang.

Now, with only four days to go before the big day on Thursday, all the hype has eerily vanished into thin air as preparations enter the final stage for the election at the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) headquarters.

The candidates are the same and their target remains the same, but still the whole affair has been robbed of a stirring and headline-churning build-up and an even more intriguing climax.

What initially looked like shaping up to be a neck-and-neck, two-horse race now bears resemblance to a mismatched, lopsided contest.

To start with, former national police chief Somyot Poompunmuang and ex-Thailand national football team coach Charnwit Phalajivin were expected to battle it out for the country's top football job in Thursday’s election.

Former national team manager Vanasthana (formerly Thavatchai) Sajakul, former FAT secretary-general Pinit Sasinin, Bangkok FC chairman Natthapol Teepsuwan and police officer Chaisap Tharat Rittem have also filed nominations but the quartet have always been regarded as ranked outsiders.

The re-election of 30 representatives from the Regional League (Division Two, third tier) on Jan 22, however, has imaginably tipped the balance heavily in favour of Pol Gen Somyot.

Both Somyot and Charnwit are believed to have roughly similar support from the 18 Thai Premier League clubs and an equal number of teams from the second-tier League One, making the 30 regional league voters the decisive factor in the election.

On Thursday, 72 voters — the six others being representatives of minor competitions — will cast secret ballots to elect the new FAT president to replace long-time incumbent Worawi, who is unable to run again after being suspended twice by Fifa’s ethics committee.

With the key to the top FAT office being held by the 30-vote bloc from the Regional League, the outcome of the Jan 22 re-election prompted Thai-language daily Komchadluek to declare in its headline “All Somyot’s [supporters]”.

The 30 voters were originally elected last September before Worawi was suspended by Fifa.

The re-election staged by Adm Surawut Maharom-led normalisation panel, appointed by Fifa, raised more than a few eyebrows, including those of non-aligned observers.

When the results of the contentious re-election were made public, only two clubs picked under the Worawi administration were able to retain their voting rights for Thursday’s FAT presidential polls as 28 new teams claimed the licence to cast ballots.

Charnwit is a respected coach and administrator — a former deputy chief of the Physical Education Department — whose only 'wrongdoing' in the eyes of some critics, so far, is his association with Worawi.

While Charnwit is seen as Worawi's proxy by certain journalists and critics, he insists that “I don’t belong to any camp” and “I have been working for football for a long time and I have worked with a lot of people. But it does not make me a proxy of any particular person."

It is an election in which what one says or does hardly seems to carry any weight. The swaying factors this time are politics and manoeuvres behind the scene.

Charnwit is backed by TPL runners-up SCG Muang Thong United, which is owned by Siam Sport Syndicate, the most powerful sports media body in the country, and has former national team striker Piyapong Pue-on and TPL president Ong-art Kosinkar on his team.

Somyot, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 60 as the country's top police officer at the end of September, is promising to deliver a national academy and fair governance if elected as FAT president.

Somyot has labelled his campaign 'Five Fairs’, which include fair disbursement and distribution of funds and providing a fair working environment for referees.

The ex-police chief is backed by TPL winners Buriram United, Chonburi and Bangkok Glass among other clubs as well as King Power Group, which owns English Premier League side Leicester City.

Initially, Charnwit and Somyot’s camps took turns in heaping accusations on each other, but it has all been put on the back burner now.

Even the most vocal Charnwit supporters in the media are keeping a low profile, seemingly resigned to the fact that, barring a miracle, Somyot will be pronounced the new FAT head on Thursday.

Surawut claimed after the Jan 22 re-election: “We are confident that there will not be any problems afterwards. The 30 representatives elected today will have the right to cast votes at the FAT presidential election on Feb 11 [Thursday].”

It remains to be seen if the new set of FAT administrators will be able to live happily ever after Thursday, as many expect the real drama to unfold in the form of legal tussles after the election is over.

One can only hope that common sense will prevail, regardless of the outcome of the election.

Celebrate your triumph and enjoy the associated perks as much as you like, but a realisation that you, Mr FAT President, don’t matter as much as the future of the Thai national team will go a long way in serving the best interest of football in the Kingdom.

Thailand has been performing admirably well on the international stage and that is what really matters to the people of this country.

Charnwit Phalajivin.

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