Worawi gets praise for Thai slots
Thai football authorities hailed the Thai FA president Worawi Makudi's influence after the country retained its two entry slots for the Asian Champions League next season.
The Asian Football Confederation reviewed the slot allocation for the continent’s elite club competition at its executive committee meeting at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, with Thailand retaining its one direct entry plus one play-off spot they received this year.
Ong-art Kohsinkha, the Football Association of Thailand general secretary, believed the fact that the country did not lose its slots unlike neighbours Indonesia, who lost their single place in the reallocation, was more or less down to Worawi’s influence in the regional governing body.
“It’s very good news for us. Not so long ago, Thai clubs got only one play-off spot. So, we have to thank FAT president Worawi, who also sits on the executive boards of both Fifa and AFC, for helping us retain the same number of slots as last season.
“Now, I would like to ask all Thai clubs to collectively help elevate the standard to be one of the continent’s leading football leagues,” said Ong-art.
Vichit Yamboonruang, the chairman of Thai Premier League Company, the organisers of the country’s top flight league, also believed Thai clubs needed to make the most of the opportunity by pulling in the same direction to take the league further forward.
“We’re very fortunate to be able to have the same number of slots for next season’s ACL competition as this year. We had very low points in the evaluation by the AFC. Initially, I feared we might lose all of our entry places.
“We now need to be more serious about cooperation to help make the TPL stronger in terms of quality, otherwise we may get fewer slots in the future,” said Vichit.
