End is nigh for Worawi at the FAT

The pain is still fresh for Worawi, who also sits on Fifa’s all-powerful executive committee, after having his personal pride dented by his embarrassing defeat in the presidential election of the Asian Football Confederation earlier this month. However, the hurt would be incomparable if Worawi, who felt betrayed after earning only seven out of 46 votes available in the AFC poll despite announcing earlier that he had secured the backing of Southeast Asian countries, loses his FAT post.

With the stakes high, it is understandable that the Thai FA boss is growing more desperate to cling on to the job. The postponement of the FAT vote, which was originally scheduled on June 15, illustrated best his desperation.

Although there is a FAT meeting on that date, it would be to seek approval for Fifa’s new statute. Worawi has been saying repeatedly that the vote must be held in accordance with the world governing body’s new statute. Failing to do so could mean a ban from international competitions, he warned.

The move, though, was seen by the opposition as only a political ploy to buy Worawi more time. But what sparked widespread criticism and condemnation was his planned move to reduce the number of voting members from around 180 to only 72. No one knows why the number of voting members was cut to 72, but Worawi has been trying to make people understand that he was merely following the Fifa diktat. There was, though, no rule that states specifically about that.

Was it done to reduce the risk of losing the election? The smaller the number of voters, the easier it is to manage the votes. Worawi may have learned a lesson from the previous episode two years ago when he had to call off the initial vote, which many believed he would have lost, before eventually winning his third consecutive term in the rescheduled election.

There is a serious doubt over the magical number 72, a large proportion of whom come from teams in the regional leagues. With no clear criteria in selecting a total of 30 teams from five regions, many suspected the authorities had picked only those who support them.

Worawi’s plan, though, may still backfire given that he needs a two-thirds majority of members to approve the move to get voting members reduced. And, who would be willing to have their right stripped away? Even if he does get approval, he would be unable to delay the poll well beyond the expiry of his mandate like the last time. The Sports Authority of Thailand made it clear last week that they would intervene if the association failed to hold the election by July 17.

It looks as if it is difficult to stage a FAT election each time. But, it actually would have been far less complicated had Worawi not tried to connect the vote with the approval process of Fifa’s new statute.

If I am not wrong, football’s world governing body does not say it is necessary we need to approve the new statute first before going to the poll. Worawi, who will turn 62 in November, just wanted to drag it on as he was well aware that he would face far more fierce competition this time. After missing out on the post in 2011, former national team manager Virat Chanpanich is coming back with a vengeance. It is an open secret that the man, better known as “Big Krong”, has got the backing of a powerful faction of the Thai Premier League’s “big” clubs – Buriram United and Chon Buri FC.

The presence of Vijit Getkaew, who Worawi succeeded as the head of the association, at Virat’s conference to announce his election policy on Thursday provided further ominous signs that the momentum now has shifted towards his main rival. The change that will reshape Thai football’s landscape looks inevitable and if Worawi stages an escape act, it will be nothing short of miracle.