Newin Gets His Way
Last Friday, Buriram PEA chairman Newin Chidchob requested that the upcoming World Cup Qualifier on July 23rd be played at the new i-Mobile Stadium in Buriram as the stadium is, according to the PEA supremo, the most suitable venue in Thailand to host international football matches at present. Sure enough, it now seems that the game will be played at the i-Mobile. We’re all for playing international matches outside of the capital – they usually attract much higher crowds than games played in Bangkok – but the decision should be made for the right reasons: not because it is the will of one man. Yes, the new i-Mobile does have facilities the like of which have never been seen before in Thai football grounds, but we wonder if FIFA and the Palestinian national side (Thailand’s likely opponents) consider a stadium located 350kms from the nearest international airport to be “appropriate."
Something Different?
Why not take in a Regional League (Division 2) match this weekend? The TPL and Division 1 teams are on a mid-season break until the end of July, but it’s business as usual in the Bangkok Division of the Regional League. Tickets are very cheap at most clubs – 20 baht or thereabouts – and clubs are spread throughout the city and surrounding provinces: so there should be a club near you. All matches start at 4pm unless stated otherwise. On Friday night, Chamchuri United host Nonthaburi FC at the Chulalongkorn University Stadium at the same university (6pm). All the following fixtures are on Saturday (something’s happening on Sunday; I forget what). Leaders Kasetsart University will be hopeful of staying out in front when they entertain Maptaphut Rayong at KU. Second-from-bottom Kasembundit are at home to Prachinburi FC at the 72nd Anniversary Stadium in Minburi and Globlex Fc welcome Thanyaburi RA United to the Ramkamheng University Stadium. Not far away, at the Regency Stadium in Khlong Chan, second-placed Raj-Vithi host fifth-placed Bangkok Christian College in what is probably the pick of the weekend’s fixtures. Elsewhere, Royal Thai Fleet host Thai Air Luk Isaan in Sattahip. And on Monday night, third-placed North Bangkok College are at home to Assumption Thonburi. The match gets underway at 6pm at the Bangkok University Stadium in Rangsit.