According to Fifa, the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) was established in 1916 and joined the sport’s governing body in 1925.
Worawi Makudi.
Thailand first took part in the World Cup in the qualifying round for the 1974 finals.
The Thai national football team had qualified for the 1956 and 1968 Olympics, so why it took so long for them to join the World Cup was probably a mystery.
At the 1974 World Cup qualifying, Thailand lost all their three games, conceding 12 goals and failing to score a single goal.
They lost 6-0 to Israel, 4-0 to South Korea and 2-0 to Malaysia in the qualifying tournament held in South Korea.
Thailand have since suffered an early exit in most World Cup qualifying campaigns.
Their best performance was advancing to Asia’s final qualifying round (last 10 teams) for the 2002 World Cup.
A key factor in that impressive campaign was the absence of Asian powerhouses South Korea and Japan in the qualifying round.
The duo earned automatic finals berths as co-hosts of the 2002 World Cup.
While Asia has received more berths for the World Cup in accordance with an increase in the number of the finals teams, Thailand’s hunt for their first ever World Cup place has become tougher.
With Australia and some former Soviet republics, particularly Uzbekistan, joining the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), there are probably more than a dozen teams who are better than the Thais.
There are also several sides who are as good as Thailand, including familiar rivals in Southeast Asia.
With 4.5 slots for the World Cup for Asia, ''Thailand will go to the (men’s) World Cup in the next life'' may remain true for a long time.
But while the Thais are still chasing their first ever World Cup berth, Thailand is one of the best known countries in the world of football _ for the wrong reasons.
Thanks to FAT president Worawi Makudi in his capacity as a Fifa executive, Thailand has been in the headlines on several occasions over the past few years.
Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper has accused Worawi of having a role in helping energy company PTT secure a natural gas deal with Qatar.
Worawi was an eligible voter in the 2010 vote to select the 2022 World Cup host won by Qatar.
While PTT was quick to issue a statement to deny Worawi’s involvement in the gas contract, Worawi has not yet made an official statement regarding the allegations.
Worawi is in Brazil as a Fifa supervisor overseeing certain World Cup matches and several Thai newspapers play up the role instead of the allegations.
While it is an honour for a Thai to have a World Cup duty, this is not unusual because Fifa executives are normally assigned to certain roles during the finals.
Worawi is a guest columnist at a Thai newspaper but he has written about matters other than the accusations against him.
He is at the World Cup and should use this occasion to call a press conference to offer his explanation.
Worawi faced several allegations at home and abroad in the past but was able to clear his name of any wrongdoings.
As for the latest allegations, he may think he did not do anything wrong so he does not have to say anything.
But the allegations not only affect his reputation but also that of Thailand and PTT, one of the country’s biggest companies, so he should give his side of the story.
Wanchai Rujawongsanti is Sports Editor, Bangkok Post.