Thai FA slashes salaries of Nishino, other employees
The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) yesterday announced it was cutting salaries of its employees in order to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus outbreak which has brought all sporting events in the country to a standstill.
The decision also affects Thailand national team coach Akira Nishino among others.
The FAT, faced with a lack of financial liquidity, said apart from Nishino, coaching staff of all national sides and the association’s office staff will be subjected to the cut.
However, the FAT did not reveal the extent of the reduction.
At the moment, all footballing activities in Thailand are suspended at least until May 2 and matches involving the country’s national teams have also been put on hold by Fifa and the Asian Football Confederation.
The Covid-19 spread has affected sporting activities throughout the world with major events like the Tokyo Olympics and Euro 2020 football championship all postponed to next year.
FAT president Pol Gen Somyot Poompunmuang, announcing the measure yesterday, said the absence of competitive football in the country is drying up the association’s cash inflow.
“I have informed all the FAT officials and coaches about the cut and sought their cooperation in helping us get through these difficult times,” said Somyot, adding that Nishino had also been apprised of the decision.
“The shutdown of leagues was unavoidable — we had to think of all the players, officials and fans involved. It’s important that we follow the government’s policy.
“Playing matches behind closed doors is an option but we have to think of the live broadcasts and affect it would have on marketing campaigns of our sponsors.”
Somyot said he was also worried about the affects of a prolonged break on clubs in the Thai leagues.
“They all have expenses. They have to pay salaries to their players, coaches and the other team officials they hire. This pandemic actually has the potential of hurting the entire football setup in Thailand,” Somyot said.