By Thai Newsroom Reporters
PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE Minister Anucha Nakhasai has spiced up the Thai people’s appetite for World Cup soccer games by confirming today (Nov.16) they could probably watch all 64 matches live on free TV.
Anucha’s comments apparently contradicted those earlier made by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan who has dampened the hopes of soccer enthusiasts by saying only some, and not all, of the total 64 soccer games being contested by 32 national teams from around the globe in the Fifa World Cup 2022 might probably be broadcast live from Qatar for free viewing in Thailand.
Prawit blamed the probability of the Thais being given selected World Cup soccer matches to watch live on the “overpriced” Fifa broadcasting licence amounting to 1.6 billion baht.
But the Prime Minister’s Office minister who is attached to the ruling Palang Pracharath Party headed by the deputy premier confirmed that the Sports Authority of Thailand, assisted by sports agents and private sponsors, might probably manage to strike a last-minute deal with the Fifa to the extent that all 64 matches be available for the people to watch live and the purchase price for the broadcasting licence be finally reduced.
The National Broadcasting & Telecommunications Commission has already offered to contribute 600 million baht for the sports agency to buy the costly broadcasting licence with the balance to be provided by others in a few days whilst the world soccer tournament held every four years is scheduled to kick off on Sunday.
Prawit commented that the Thais might probably not be able to watch the opening match between the host Qatar and Ecuador due to the pricey licence whilst, he said, Thailand could only afford to pay about one billion baht.
Thailand might probably be the Asean member state which is paying the highest price for the Fifa licence for the live broadcasting of the World Cup tournament, compared to others which are paying less than one billion baht each.
CAPTIONS:
Top: The Fifa World Cup 2022 football. Photo: Getty Images and published by BBC
Front Page: The Lusail Stadium in Doha, which will stage the 2022 World Cup final. Photo: Matthew Ashton / Getty Images and published by El País English
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