Thai clubs may pay for FAT's poor leadership

Unfortunately, it might be the last time that people watched the northeastern club or other Thai teams play on the international stage following confusion over the club licensing issue.

Buriram were unable to defy the odds and steer the way out of the group that included four domestic league champions of different countries. However, their six-point tally from the six group matches was possibly far better than what people had expected when the draw was made.

Although Buriram were irresistible on the domestic front last season, sweeping away teams with a historic treble, many pundits believed they would find life difficult when they made their first foray into the Asian tournament equivalent to the Uefa Champions League.

 In fact, the event represented a whole new territory for the Thai representatives. It was the first time since 2008 that a Thai club had reached the competition proper after the country received one automatic place as well as one play-off spot when the AFC made a review in November. Given that, it came as no surprise when many wrote off Buriram’s chances even before the kick-off.  

However, the club, still known last season as Buriram PEA before its outspoken owner Newin Chidchob completed his takeover towards the close of the season, fared better than even the most optimistic supporters’ expectations.

 They briefly held the lead after making a strong start with two wins out of two: a thrilling 3-2 win at home to J-League champions Kashiwa Reysol, followed by a 2-1 away victory over Chinese Super League winners Guangzhou Evergrande.

Just when Buriram coach Attaphol Puspakom, who guided BEC Tero Sasana to the final in 2003, started dreaming of leading a second Thai side to the knock-out stage, things began to crumble. They crashed to a 2-0 home defeat against K-League champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

Few could have thought that the first defeat in the campaign would have such a damaging impact on the Thais’ confidence. Attaphol’s side never recovered from the setback. The 2-1 loss at home to Guangzhou in midweek, which sealed their fate, completed the four-match losing streak.

Nevertheless, Buriram could take many positives from their first ACL campaign, where they gave their stronger rivals a run for their money. It showed that the perceived gap in league standards was not that wide as people thought. They were more than a match to all rivals in the group, both at home and away, never losing a game by more than two-goal margin. Buriram’s demise was largely down to their lack of experience at international level. Some might argue that both Guangzhou and Kashiwa teams also made their first appearance in the competition, but those two clubs had better-equipped squads, particularly the Chinese outfit which invested heavily on young foreign talents, including highly-rated midfielder Dario Conca of Argentina. 

Given such an encouraging show by the Thai club, it was still uncertain whether they would get another crack at the event, with the Asian football governing body due to revise allocation of slots at the end of the current campaign.  

The immediate concern for the Thai clubs was the possibility of missing out on places in AFC’s tournaments next season. The governing body stated that clubs participating in all the AFC competitions must fulfill the club-licensing criteria by 2013.

It was the responsibility of each national association to take care of the licensing process of their own clubs. However, it was reported that none of Thai clubs so far has obtained a licence. When pressed by Thai media, who sought a clarification on the issue, Worawi Makudi, the Thai FA boss, who also sits in the AFC executive board, said there would be a compromise to allow Thai clubs to play without licence for the next two years.

The question now is, what if AFC does not do so when its rules become effective? Will Worawi take responsibility for the latest example of bungling and poor management under his leadership?