Thailand's football officials just can't think ahead

Outgoing FAT president Worawi Makudi stressed at the time that it was the best solution to the problem caused by a dispute over the ownership of the northeastern club, saying it was a fair decision and would have the least effect on those involved.

Little surprise that the FAT settled the case in favour of Srisaket, who last season played under the banner of Esan United. Worawi had always maintained that the club was not culpable for what happened, which made them unable to play in the league in the third round of fixtures this term due to the court injunction.

So, to let Srisaket, whose results in their first three matches were declared void, stay in the league following the annulment of the court order while only the eventual 17th-placed team would be relegated at the end of the season seemed fair enough in Worawi’s view.

The big question is why did FAT opt to expand the league from 18 to 20 teams next season when the status quo seemed a better option, given the poor organisation of the league.

It would be the second time in three years that the TPL would be expanding. The number of teams was first increased from 16 to 18 in 2011. No one argues that the league has enjoyed sharp growth in popularity in recent years and every fan wanted to see their teams play in the top-tier division. But, is it right to accelerate the league’s growth at such a rate?

No one would oppose the plan to expand the league if we have proper management in place to accommodate the expansion. The fact is that the management of the TPL is so poor that it is normal to see the league struggle to finish the season on schedule. In this case, it got further complicated by the addition of matches in two domestic cup competitions.

The direct result from the pile-up of domestic fixtures is that the authorities were struggling to arrange the league programme in accordance with Fifa dates for international matches. So, while neighbouring countries such as Singapore played friendly matches last week – like other nations featuring in the World Cup qualifiers – the Thai national team had no game to play as the TPL matches continued.

If it was a struggle to organise the league properly with 18 teams, why do we burden it with two more teams next season? It is, indeed, a big deal even if only two more teams are to be included in the league because it means each side needs to play four more matches and the season would be extended by at least a month as a result. Do the officials ever think about these matters?