No hope for "David versus Goliath" matches for Thai fans

The absence of the third round matches on TV screens early this month caused a stir among Thai and expatriate football fans.

Some netizens said many crazy English fans in Pattaya were walking around like lost school kids.

 The matches were not on air even on cable channels. The disappointed fans flooded the only cable channel, which secures the broadcasting rights of football matches, with complaints.

The cable channel, in fact, failed to secure the rights to telecast the FA Cup this season. ESPN Star Sports hold the broadcasting rights of the FA Cup for Asia but excludes Thailand while a media company, which owns the rights for Thailand, failed to broadcast it.

Unlike in the past, the company bought the licence directly from the FA for four seasons from 2008 to 2012, which includes England's home internationals, England's home friendlies and the season-opening Community Shield match.

Many wondered why the company could not telecast it. In fact, Thai viewers also missed a chance to watch the Community Shield last August. Perhaps the company thought they could sell the rights with a good profit. And my guess is that all the broadcasters may not have matched the price they had demanded.

However, fans are still hopeful that they will get to see some action.

 A related topic posted in www.thaivisa.com got a reply from Stuart Turner, head of broadcasting, the FA, in which he held out hopes for the Thai fans.

He said: "We have in the past enjoyed a long relationship with both ESPN Star Sports and BBTV in the region for a number of years. However BBTV did not bid for our rights this time around and ESPN Star felt that they could drop Thailand in order to concentrate on winning other, more central, territories for them.

"The simple fact is that the agreement that the FA signed with an agency in good faith in November 2007 has been reneged upon by the licensee for Thailand, leaving the FA to re-open a number of direct negotiations with both cable and terrestrial broadcasters in the territory. This has meant that thus far, we have not been able to broadcast games as intended in what is an important territory for English football.

"These negotiations, set as they are against a backdrop of financial and political meltdown in Thailand, have not been easy, but I sense we are near to conclusion. For the record, the agency you refer does not hold the rights any more. We will continue to try and strike a firm deal before the FA Cup fourth round but pleased be advised of our best intentions in this regard."

It would, indeed, be a pity if football fans miss a chance to watch the fourth round matches next weekend, especially the ties between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, and Everton and Liverpool, the first Merseyside derby in the competition since 1991.