Sports Authority says no to THB400m request for Man Utd-Liverpool match
The Sports Authority of Thailand refused a request by Fresh Air Festival Ltd for 400 million baht to organise and host an exhibition match between Manchester United and Liverpool in Bangkok, Minister of Tourism and Sports Pipat Ratchakitprakarn said on Tuesday.
The event, called “The Match Bangkok Century Cup 2022”, is scheduled for July 12 at Rajamangala Stadium. Both English Premier League giants will lock horns in front of their Thai fans.
“The organiser had asked the Sports Authority of Thailand for financial support as the event would help promote both tourism and sport and eventually benefit the country,” said Pipat.
“However, we had to turn them down as the authority does not have the money, while we believe the organiser should be able to find their own sponsors for the event,” he said.
“The best we can do is to support the event by providing free water and electricity,” Pipat said.
He added that he did not know if the authority’s rejection of Fresh Air Festival’s 400-million-baht request would lead to higher ticket prices.
The company recently announced that ticket prices would range from 5,000 to 25,000 baht and the tickets would go on sale on March 11.
A press conference for the match will be held at 3pm on March 9 at Siam Paragon.
When asked if the event could be cancelled due to the Covid-19 situation, Pipat said it was too soon to predict what the situation would be in the next five months.
However, he voiced confidence that the match would be held as many sport events have gone ahead in the Covid-19 situation, with organisers using ATKs to screen audiences while there have been no new cluster cases surrounding any of the events.
