The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) has sought clear guidelines from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) regarding the government's plan for easing coronavirus-related restrictions to pave the way for Sept 12 restart of the domestic leagues.
In a letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who heads the CCSA, the FAT on Thursday highlighted that continuing shutdown of the sport in the country could incur losses to the tune of five billion baht this season to the parties involved.
The FAT also reaffirmed its plans to host all matches behind closed doors.
The association had sent a similar letter to the prime minister on April 22 to which the CCSA responded by saying that football matches posed a high risk and could kick off another Covid-19 outbreak as they involved a lot of people. It also argued that football is a contact sport.
At a recent meeting, the restart of Thai Leagues 1 and 2 was slated for Sept 12 with the lower tiers and the cup competitions following.
The FAT said the clubs would need at least two months to re-assemble and prepare their squads for the tournaments. It added that the clubs would also have to prepare their venues to meet the requirements stipulated by the government and get them ready for inspection by the health authorities.
All footballing activities in the Kingdom were halted on March 3 due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
