Phuket hosts a round of the Swatch International Women's Beach Volleyball Tour - but this and the Laguna Triathlon are the only regular world-class sports events held on the island. Photo by Swatch

The government, its representatives in Phuket and local authorities on the island have come under fire from two leading local sports figures for their inability to understand the potential tourism revenue that could be brought in through sports events.

Eam Thavornwongwong, President of the Phuket Sports Association, and Patrick Cotter of the Phuket Vagabonds Rugby Club, who organises the annual Phuket Rugby Tens tournament, said yesterday that the island had repeatedly missed chances to host major sports events because the authorities had failed to support organisers, because of their whimsical attitude towards sporting facilities and their lackadaisical approach to maintenance, particularly of pitches.

Cotter pointed out that the eleventh Rugby Tens tournament, which will take place at the end of May – despite setbacks – will bring in as many as 600 players, plus up to 400 family members and supporters, and that many of these people would return time and again.

“The sad thing is that Phuket sells itself,” Cotter said. “Anyone who comes here to play wants to come back again. That’s why the 10s have been so successful. They’re not coming for three days. They come for two weeks, not just for the matches in Phuket – they also go to Samui, Bangkok and so on.

But the process you go through [to get a stadium to play in], a lot of it depends on the whim of the person in charge. They don’t seem to take into consideration that you’re bringing in a thousand people who are going to be spending 30-40,000 baht each.”

Eam Thavornwongwong: Missed opportunities.

Eam gave examples of the opportunities lost to lukewarm or non-existent support from national and local authorities. These included the X Games, he said. Qualifying rounds were hosted by Phuket in 1998 – 2000. “But after we hosted [these], we approached the Sports Authority of Thailand for support [to host the main Asian tournament]. But they refused because these were not Olympic sports. Malaysia heard about this and got the X Games. You won’t see them back in Phuket again.”

Another missed opportunity, he said, was a planned 24-hour Asian beach soccer tournament. This idea had been heartily supported by Phuket’s previous Governor, Dr Preecha Ruangjan, said Eam, “Then he was transferred … You need the support of the governor to start [a tournament like this], and then funds from the local councils. The governor is the one who can authorise it.”

Cotter criticised the poor maintenance of Phuket’s stadiums. As an example he cited Karon Stadium, where the recent Phuket Cricket Sixes tournament was played on mats because the ground is almost entirely bare earth, with a fringe of grass around the edges.

Cotter said, “I don’t think they realise what they have. They’ve got a facility that, if it was upgraded … would be ideal for hosting quality international events. There are not many places in the world where you can go to play football, rugby, cricket, whatever, and 10 yards away you’re on a tropical beach. It seems to me that they can’t get their head around the facility – how to use it, how to maintain it and promote it – it’s a complete waste of a facility, a waste of money and a waste of people’s time.”

Eam agreed. “They turf it and then three months later they have to do it all again.” He added that he was also worried about the quality of the pitch at the island’s premier stadium, Surakul in Phuket Town, which is owned by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation, and which will be the venue for this year’s Rugby Tens.

“Looking at this place now I’m very worried,” he said. “I have to talk to the chairman to assign the proper people to come and look after it because of the big potential for sport for tourism.”

Both men agreed that the private sector can and does play a big role in supporting sports tourism, but stressed that government support in the initial phases was still essential. Apart from the problem that sports stadiums in Phuket are all owned by local government bodies, Eam explained, “You need public sector funds to kick it off. The previous governor persuaded the hotels to commit to providing the lighting [for the beach soccer stadium]. But nothing’s happening yet. I already proposed the idea to the Thai FA, who were looking to have somewhere for beach football. They were very keen. We were looking at the possibility of an Asian FC competition and then in a couple of years a FIFA beach soccer world championship.”

He added that, with adjustment, the same facilities could have been used for the Swatch International Women’s Beach Vollyball Tournament, which is now a regular fixture in Phuket, and which will return in November this year. But none of this is happening.

The Karon Mud Wrestling Stadium.

Cotter agreed, noting that there is a plan for Thailand to be the venue for an international rugby sevens tournament. “What they want to do is a King’s Cup seven-a-side tournament. Then they want Thailand to host the Asian round to decide which Asian teams go on to the International Rugby Board sevens circuit.

“But first of all you have to prove to them you can host an international tournament. What [local government bodies] don’t understand is that when you have an international tournament, whether its cricket, football, beach volleyball or rugby, once you’re on the circuit, you get accreditation and then you get the funding. But first they want to see whether you can do it. If you can prove to them that you can do it, then they’ll give you the funding to bring the teams in, for everything. And they’ll keep coming back.”

However, whimsical decisions by the stadium owners made this very difficult, he said. “It’s, ‘Oh no. I don’t like rugby so you can’t have the stadium.’ Every year we have to go through the same rigmarole to try to get hold of [Surakul for the rugby tens]. But international tournaments have to be planned a year in advance. You can’t keep waiting and waiting until two months before the tournament for permission – or for them to turn you down two months before the tournament.”

Asked whether the Tourism Authority of Thailand might provide support, Cotter sniffed, “They don’t even answer your emails.”

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