Profile photos of Thai people are changed to black and white. Images and video clips of their beloved King are widely uploaded and shared on various social media. Thai people are currently undergoing a difficult period of time.
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During this mourning period, all entertainments in the country will be stopped indefinitely. Tourism will be affected and the country’s most popular sport, football will not be spared – the impact on the fast-growing Southeast Asia football nation will be massive.
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It has been reported that the Thai League has stopped with current league leader, Muangthong United declared as winner. Hassan Sunny’s Army United, together with Chainat Hornbill and BBCU are relegated to Division One for next season. League Cup final between Muangthong United and Buriram United will be decided by lottery.
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The fate of this season’s Thai league might have been done and dusted but how about their participation in the 2018 World Cup Qualifying?
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Thailand has an upcoming home match against Australia in the 2018 World Cup Qualifying on 15 Nov 2016. As we understand, no entertainment or sort should take place during this mourning period. Simply say, the match which obviously going to garner ten over thousands football fans in Bangkok next month will not be possible.
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Both Football Federation of Australia (FFA) and Football Association of Thailand (FAT) might have to look at the possibility of switching its home and away match fixture under such circumstances. But to be fair to either party, a neutral venue could be the best option.
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Should the match between Thailand and Australia be required to proceed as scheduled, in our humble opinion and with respect to Thailand, how about considering Singapore as the neutral venue to host this 2018 World Cup Qualifying match? A quick glance at the Sports Hub’s event calendar, the 55,000 capacity National Stadium seems to be available on 15 Nov 2016. Singapore does have a great venue to facilitate such an important match and we believe thousands and thousands of Thais, Australians and even Singaporeans will flock to the National Stadium to catch such a battle.
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Apart from extending our warm welcome to the Football Federations/Associations, let us extend our biggest support to our neighbor, Thailand in the name of football.
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