What a waste! Bt200 million for one match

A couple of months ago the officials made us believe that the venue would be ready in time. It seemed foolish to think otherwise. Now, we realise that the glib talkers have been taking all of us for a ride. It is difficult to come to terms with the reality. Rarely has there ever been a host of any sporting international tournament failing to get the venue ready for the competition.

The smooth operators have made us the laughing stock of the world. To find words to describe how much embarrassment they have caused to the country is indeed a difficult exercise. We are left with no choice but to host the tournament from November 1 to 18 in Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima.

Who would have thought that Thailand would fare even worse than India, perceived to be less developed country in terms of organising a sports tournament? In fact, the comparison between the two countries would make India’s much-criticised preparations for the Commonwealth Games two years ago look a lot better.

Not only did India stage a tournament far bigger in scale than that of the Thais, given that more than 70 countries took part in New Delhi to compete in 17 disciplines, they also did manage to get everything ready at the 11th hour. In stark contrast, Thailand is struggling to host a single-sport event. 

Major flooding that hit the country last year cannot be used as an excuse for the delay in the construction as Thailand won the right to host the Cup in March, 2010. Had they started the work back then, the farcical scenes of the Arena still under construction would never have had occurred.

Unfortunately, the ideal world and the real one are different and there appeared to be a problem around the corner from the beginning. Initially, the Arena was not in the plan to be one of the Cup venues but the Impact Arena failed to meet the standards set by Fifa. The world soccer governing body also wanted the tournament to leave a legacy, resulting in the decision to build a new stadium.

The legacy concept was similar to the one applied in the recent Olympics in London as Fifa hoped to see the community earn benefits from hosting the Cup. So, this raises a question on the decision to build a stadium in Nong Chok district on the outskirts of the capital.

People think long and hard whether to travel to the venue during the tournament, which could take more than an hour depending on the traffic. How the stadium could serve the community after the Cup is therefore a difficult question.

The fact that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, which was responsible for building the stadium, and the government come from different political parties did not help the cause, with the two trying to blame each other for the farce.

When it became certain that the Arena would not be ready in time, Fifa decided to rearrange the Group A fixtures featuring hosts Thailand to be played at the Indoor Hua Mark stadium.

The Arena will be used for only six matches in the 24-team event; two quarter-final games, two semi-final fixtures, the third-place play-off and the final. With Bt1.3 billion gone for building the Arena, it means each of the six games is worth over Bt200 million. What a big waste!

The damage to the country’s reputation is immeasurable and no one could tell how long we would live with the tag of worst-ever hosts.