You know that Thailand is one of the four host countries of Asian Cup 2007. So far, three Group A matches have been held in Thailand. In the first three matches, the number of spectators was not satisfactory for the tournament organizers. In addition, Thai television channels have recently decided to avoid Asian Cup 2007 as part of showing protest against Asian Football Confederation as they have conflict with AFC over the broadcasting rights.
Sydney Morning Herald reported:
Despite Thailand's table-topping 2-0 win over Oman on Thursday, channels 3, 5, 9, 11 and TITV are shunning Asia's premier soccer tournament over what they say are unfair broadcasting restrictions.
Channel 7, an official rights holder, is the only local station covering the competition, which is being co-hosted by Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia.
We didn't want to do this but the AFC has been too strict," said a reporter from TITV, who asked not to be named.
Asian Cup is the most prestigious regional fooball tournament in Asia. So, such boycott is neither good for Asian Cup nor for the Thailand football. I think, AFC should be lenient over the broadcasting rights and should ensure the maximum amount of coverage from mass media. Asian cup is one of most significance way of developing the quality of Asian football. So, AFC should give priority on Asian Cup.
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