Siam Sports Syndicate wants Thai FA to honour contract
Siam Sport Syndicate is hoping that the Football Association of Thailand reconsiders its decision to annul the Syndicate’s contract to oversee matters related to the commercial side of the association.
On Monday, the Thai FA president Somyot Poompanmuang said the contract with Siam Sport would be rescinded as it was unfair to the association. The contract was signed during the tenure of Somyot’s predecessor, Worawi Makudi.
Yesterday, Adisai Warinsirikun, the chairman of the board of Siam Sport Syndicate, called a press conference to deny the charges levelled against his organisation.
“We would like to categorically deny all four charges that we had an unfair contract with the FA. Ten years ago, the association asked for our help to make football the number one sport in the country. We came through tough periods until we achieved success.
“Truevisions then came in to buy the TV rights deal, causing the commercial value [of the football league] to increase each year. That’s something accountable.
“Nothing is true about the allegation that we did not stipulate the returns for the association. The FA appointed us to seek money and we had to cover all expenses, with the association not taking care of any of them. All the details were stipulated in the contract.
“The allegation that the association lacked freedom to work is not true either. The association itself divided the work among three parties: the association, Thai Premier League Company and Siam Sport. The work has been divided clearly.
“Finally, it’s impossible that the association was unable to plan the budget because they knew it well where they would get the money, either from Fifa or sponsors of the national team,” said the Siam Sport boss.
Hoping to get a chance to discuss the issue with the association, Adisai urged the FA to honour the current contract it has with other major sponsors including Thaibev and Toyota, saying it could lead to a loss of more than half a billion baht.
“We’ll do nothing in response to the FA’s action, because we respect its decision. We’re hoping we’ll get a chance to discuss it with the association again since we did not receive a formal letter informing the cancellation of our contract.
“We’re hopeful they will honour other sponsors’ contracts that are due to expire this year, otherwise it could cause a loss of Bt765 million,” he said.
