Asiad soccer squad gets Bt55-million incentive
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Winning the Asiad men's football gold medal will come with a jackpot for the Thai team, after Lohtong Holding offered a Bt55-million incentive if they manage to clinch their first Games title, in Incheon, South Korea later this month.
Should the Thai side coached by former national striker Kiatisak Senamuang make the semi-finals of the continental sporting event, they will pocket Bt5 million. If they go on to win the gold, they will earn Bt50 million more.
It means the Thai side, whose best is a fourth spot in the quadrennial tournament, are chasing a windfall of Bt55 million in Incheon.
“Our company wants to help develop Thai sports, especially football. In the past, our team have twice featured in a bronze medal match. So we decided to offer special incentives for the team to come up with better results.
“We believe it will help boost team morale. We have faith in the players, manager and the coach, who wants to make the team strong,” said Wiluck Lohtong, the president of Lohtong Holding
The conference to announce the incentive in Bangkok was attended by the Thai team, who had just returned to the capital after their training camp in Phuket. On Sunday, they rounded off their preparation by beating Qatar’s U-21 team 2-0 courtesy of goals from Poklao Anan and Adisak Kraisorn.
The Thai team are scheduled to fly to Incheon tomorrow before beginning their Group E campaign against Maldives on September 15, followed by matches against Timor Leste and Indonesia.
