Sporting events throughout Thailand have been cancelled or postponed as Thailand observes a 30-day mourning period after the death of His Majesty the King. Local media reported a number of domestic sport competitions will be postponed to a later date out of respect for the country’s beloved monarch who passed away last week at the age of 88 in a Bangkok hospital.
Events affected include soccer matches and golf tournaments. Additionally, the 52nd anniversary of the founding of the Sports Authority of Thailand has been rescheduled to take place on 16th December, according to media reports. That is the same day as National Sports Day.
Five domestic golf tournaments, including four on the Thai PGA Tour, were postponed in order to observe the mourning period. This includes the Phuket Open that has now been moved back to the end of November. It was also noted that press conferences to announce the Thongchai Jaidee Invitation Golf Tournament and the Honda LPGA 2017, an event on the Ladies’ PGA Tour, have also been cancelled.
Muay Thai competitions at both Ratchadamnoen and Lumpini stadium will not take place as well and no boxing competitions will be televised live on TV during the mourning period.
The Bangkok Post reported that the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) is hoping to move the home World Cup qualifier scheduled for 15th November against Australia. Thailand’s governing body of football has consulted with soccer’s world governing body FIFA. It also wrote to Australia and the Asian Football Confederation requesting the match be moved out of respect for the grieving public.
Also in football, the FAT decided to cancel all remaining matches in its competitions for the rest of the year. They have awarded the titles to the league leaders and will resume playing matched next year.
