Thai team to fly a day later
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Thailand's football team decided to push back their departure for Singapore by a day for the upcoming Asean Championship over concerns about the non-availability of a training ground in the city-state.
Three-time champions Thailand were originally scheduled to leave for Singapore and the group stage of the biennial tournament tomorrow.
“If we travel to Singapore only to find there is no ground available for us to train, it will have been a sheer waste of time. We have already asked the hosts to provide a pitch for us prepare the team. So, we made the decision to delay our flight by a day,” said Kasem Jariyawatwong, the Thai team manager.
“The team will be training at Bangkok Glass’s ground, which also has artificial turf. We believe it’s a better option because we at least can be certain of training even if the pitch is not the same standard as in Singapore.
“In any case, it’s a better option than spending time without doing anything there, something that would sour the mood in our camp.”
Thailand, who won the last of their three titles in 2002, have been drawn in Group B along with titleholders Singapore, 2010 winners Malaysia and Myanmar. The Philippines, Asean’s top team on Fifa’s world rankings, Laos, Indonesia and Vietnam are in Group A, to be played in Vietnam.
The region’s showpiece event will kick off this weekend, with the Thai side taking on Singapore on Sunday in a repeat of the 2012 final.
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