Football-mad Thailand making no progress on world stage: Poll

The Thai men’s team have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup and are making no progress towards that goal, according to most respondents. The Thai women’s team have fared better, however, qualifying for World Cups in 2015 and 2019.

KBU Sport Poll surveyed 1,369 sports fans between June 15 and 18 about the direction of Thai football. Of the respondents, 58.8 per cent were male while the rest were female.

Asked about the performance of Thailand in international competitions:

• 34.2% said it was getting worse
• 32.97% said it was at the same level
• 18.55% said it was improving
• 15.28% were unsure

Asked what the root of the problem is:

• 29.36% said lack of good management
• 27.8% said lack of team preparation
• 18.37% said executives’ vision
• 13.04% said domestic competition programmes
• 9.03% said participation of clubs
• 2.4% gave other reasons

Asked what the solution is:

• 24.08% said finding a Football Association president who understands football’s context in the new generation
• 22.48% said setting up a clear development strategy
• 20.09% said developing youth athletes or a ‘dream team’
• 18.66% said improving the Thai league to international standard
• 8.01% said developing and improving coaches
• 4.63% said developing and improving referees
• 2.4% gave other suggestions

Asked who was responsible for the failure:

• 30.68% said the Football Association (FA) president
• 27.03% said the FA’s board
• 25.91% said head coach
• 12.37% said manager
• 2.44% said players
• 1.57% said clubs

Asked what they expected of Thailand football teams:

• 26.02% said reaching the later rounds of every competition
• 24.77% said setting up proper team preparation
• 17.33% said positive results and impression for fans
• 15.94% said best possible preparation of players for each tournament
• 12.80% said applying sports science to team preparation
• 3.14% had other expectations