FAT boss Somyot insists he has ‘passed all tests’
>> Pol Gen Somyot Poompunmuang declared yesterday that his performance as the president of the Football Association of Thailand over the past two years has been satisfactory and added that he has no intention to quit in the near future.
The statement contradicts his earlier assertion that he would vacate the top FAT office before the end of his term in 2020.
Somyot, in an interview with Thai Rath online, was non-committal on his future with the FAT, but he did not totally rule out a re-election bid.
“Right now, I cannot give any answers to this,” Somyot said, adding: “It is like a boxer who can decide when to retire and even walk away as champion.”
The FAT president said he is confident that he has “passed all the tests in the past two years, although different sets of Thai national teams were unable to achieve their targets.
“When I took over as the FAT chief, I told everyone to do their best and I will keep trying to prove myself although I am not as familiar with Thai football as my predecessor had been.
“In the past two years, I have tried to lay down the base, especially by building up a new generation of players who I hope will become key members of our future national teams.
“We should have many players for each position on the pitch and this is what I am trying to achieve.
“Each national team could not meet the target that was assigned to them because of certain factors, but I would still say that I have passed all the tests.”
Taking a swipe at the past administration, he said: “I have tried to speed up the development of football. If you want to compare then I probably took over when the level of our development was zero.
“We have now improved to either level one or two, or may be even level three. Anyone who takes over from me as the FAT president in the future would have to make sure that he goes to four, five or six.
“Whether I am in or out of the association, I will continue to help Thai football.”
Somyot became the FAT president after a landslide victory over former national team coach Charnwit Phalajivin, seen by many as former FAT chief Worawi Makudi’s proxy, in February 2016.