Courtesy: Bangkok Post


Futsal fiasco

8/11/2012

It is indeed a miracle that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has completed constructing the Bangkok Futsal Arena in just 270 days, capping a month of non-stop round-the-clock work under pressure to meet the deadline.

Although the arena, built in Nong Chok for the 2012 Futsal World Cup, missed the opening match and several subsequent group matches _ staged in two alternative stadiums _ it should be ready to host the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of the competition.

Or at least it is according to City Hall and Bangkok governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, who personally spent a night closely supervising construction work and boosting the morale of workers at the site on Oct 15.

But Fifa has a different opinion.

After having extended the deadline once to give more breathing space for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to complete the construction of the main arena, the world's football governing body decided on Tuesday to reject the arena due to safety concerns.

"Although further significant progress has been made, including the installation of a pitch, the key criteria laid out following the committee meeting on Oct 31 have not been sufficiently met," said Fifa in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday. It said the safety of spectators, teams and other visitors to the stadium are of paramount importance and cannot be compromised.

Fifa's verdict is loud and clear - the Nong Chok arena is unfit to host the competition's futsal matches.

As such, the six matches of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will have to be held instead at the Nimitbutr gymnasium and Hua Mak in-door stadium.

What a shame. And what a waste of taxpayers' money, about 1.2 billion baht of it, just to build a new arena to host the Futsal World Cup, only for it to be no longer needed for the event.

But shame may be too soft a word to describe the utter incompetency of all the organisations involved in the hosting of the event, particularly the BMA which is responsible for the construction of the arena.

Thailand won the bid to host the Futsal World Cup all the way back in March 2010. But actual construction began this year and the BMA earlier blamed the mega-flood last year for delaying the start of the project by up to five months.

But this is not a good excuse at all. The question is why didn't City Hall start building much earlier, long before the flood? Any more excuses now from those at City Hall will only embarrass themselves further. What it should do now is focus on how to make use of the arena in a way which is worthy of the hefty investment.

The BMA is not the only party involved in this international sports event. The Thai Football Association, which bid to host the games, has been conspicuously quiet and has tried to keep a distance from this fiasco.

But has the association been completely innocent and above board in all its actions?

Fifa's verdict has dealt a serious blow not just to the BMA, but to Thailand and the Thai people as a whole.

The inexcusable failure of the Bangkok Futsal Arena to meet Fifa's standards in time for the Futsal World Cup competition may make the country a laughing stock, harming its chances if it applies to host international events in the future.

On the flip side of the coin, the decision could be a blessing in disguise. Without it we may never have recognised our own weakness. And with Thailand competing with heavyweights such as Brazil, Russia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates to host the World Expo 2020, learning this lesson will be critical.






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com