By Andrew Warshaw
July 8 – The in-fighting surrounding the future of Thai football and its controversial boss Worawi Makudi has taken another twist with Makudi cancelling a news conference at which he was expected to outline his position and how the impasse could be resolved.
Last month Thailand avoided being thrown out of world football by FIFA after a tiny fourth-tier club agreed to withdrew a lawsuit that threatened to stop the Thai FA (FAT) from holding elections.
Pattaya had won a court injunction to stave off Fifa-backed reforms that would have changed the Thai federation’s statutes and slashed the number of voting clubs in FAT elections by more than half.
Makudi wants to put the reforms in place before officials go to the polls even though his term as FAT president has ended and even though 108 of the 179 FAT members have now signed a petition demanding a fresh ballot takes place on July 23 in line with Thai sports law.
The Fifa executive committee member was due to hold a press conference on Friday but it was postponed until an unspecified date this week, leaving Thai football at a domestic standstill ahead of high-profile pre-season friendlies against Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.
