Courtesy: The Nation


Thailand To Host World Deaf Futsal C'ships

November 14, 2012

Thailand will host the World Deaf Futsal Championships in 2015 in an attempt to restore the country's pride dented by the stadium farce that marred the ongoing Fifa Futsal World Cup.

Fifa, the world governing body of football, last week decided not to approve the Bangkok Futsal Arena, which was due to host games from the quarterfinals of the showpiece tournament, citing security concerns.

Fifa's decision put Thailand, who built the stadium at a cost of Bt1.2 billion, under unwarranted spotlight and the Tourism and Sports minister Chumphon Silpaarcha hoped to salvage the country's credibility by hosting the Championships in three years time.

"The Tourism and Sports ministry are honoured to host the fourth World Deaf Futsal Championships in 2015. This shows the trust they have in us to hold the event very well.

"It is also a good opportunity to show our capability. We'll throw full support behind the organisation of the tournament," Chumphon told reporters after signing a contract with the representative from International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD), Christof Niklaus, who serves as the organisation's football technical director.

Chumphon stressed that there would not be a repeat of what happened at the Futsal World Cup that dealt a hammer blow to the country's reputation.

"The troubles we faced in organising futsal left us with a bad feeling. But, by hosting futsal for the disabled people, it would help improve the public mood about the sport. The ministry will take care of the matters by itself.

"We're professional enough to host international tournaments. There is no need to worry about the venues. We' already have both Nimibutr and Hua Markd Indoor stadiums. We also received Bt300 million from the Sports Authority of Thailand for refurbish the stadium at Suphan Buri," said Chumphon.






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