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BANGKOK: Thailand’s football team will travel to England this
month to train with premier league club Manchester City at the
invite of its owner, ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the team
coach said Saturday.
Chanvit Phalajivin, who heads Thailand’s
national squad, said they would make the two-week trip to hone their
skills ahead of a key World Cup 2010 qualifier with Japan on
February 6—with Thaksin footing most of the bill.
“It’s a cooperation between the Thai
Football Association and Thaksin,” Chanvit told AFP.
“There are some 35 to 40 people who will
travel to England. Some expenses will be covered by the association,
but mainly the host will pay.”
Self-made billionaire Thaksin, who was ousted in
a coup in September 2006, bought Manchester City in July for $162.6
million. He has been living in exile, mostly in England, since his
ouster.
Allies of Thaksin, running as the People Power
Party (PPP), won the most seats in Thailand’s first post-coup
elections on December 23, and Thaksin has vowed to return to his
homeland after their apparent victory.
Chanvit denied that Thaksin’s offer was an
attempt to play politics in the crucial post-election period, as PPP
tries to form a coalition government.
“I don’t think people will consider training
as a political issue, as our football association has a limited
budget to train footballers and we have to take the best decision
for our team,” he said.
The squad hopes to travel to England in
mid-January, he added.
Thailand, traditionally Southeast Asia’s
strongest team, will have to battle Japan, Oman and Bahrain to make
it though to the next round of qualifiers for the World Cup 2010,
which will be held in South Africa.
-- AFP
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