THAILAND: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Three Thai soccer players leave Thailand soccer league for trials at Manchester City

Three national soccer players will leave Thailand next week for a trial with Manchester City following the takeover of the English Premier League club by ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Defenders Suree Sukha (pronounced Su-ree Su-ka) and Kiatprawut Saiwaeo (pronounced Kiat-pra-woot Sai-waeo) and striker Teerasil Dangda (pronounced Tee-ra-sin Dang-da) will train with the team in Manchester and they will leave Bangkok on August 15, Thai soccer officials said on Friday (August 10). Teerasil, 19, and Kiatprawut, 21, made their senior national team debuts at the Asian Cup last month, where co-hosts Thailand failed to advance from the group stage. Attacking fullback Suree, 24, has been a regular for the national team since 2005. Suree and Kiatprawut have played for Chonburi -- in the Thailand Premier League -- and Teerasil has played in division 2. At Chonburi, right-back Suree and Kiatprawut are busy training a few hours every day to be ready for a trial at Manchester City. Suree said he has not learnt any new techniques for the trial but he would try his best to get a contact. "Whether I could join the club or not it will be a good opportunity and good experience," said Suree who was one of the best players in the Asian Cup. He said that without Thaksin he would not have a chance of joining the English Premier League. "I want to have many people like Thaksin in Thailand to develop Thai soccer in Thailand," he added. The Shinawatra family secured more than 75 percent of City's shares to take total control of the struggling side, whose last major success was 31 years ago when they won the League Cup. Thaksin, who has been living in exile since he was ousted in a bloodless coup last year, has said his 81 million pounds ($163.8 million) takeover will help improve Thai soccer. Analysts have dismissed the takeover as a publicity stunt aimed at boosting his image among the soccer-obsessed Thai masses, whose votes gave Thaksin unprecedented landslide election victories in 2001 and 2005. "Politic is Politic and I don't want to involve about it. But the benefit that I get from Thaksin that let me go for trial in Man City is very useful," said centre-back Kiatprawut Saiwaeo. Kiatprawut said the training at Manchester City will improve his skills to play in Asia League or a European League. "I would like to thank Thaksin for giving an opportunity to youth like me to go to the English Premier League club. The next generation will have the target of playing football for the club that have a Thai person as a president. This will make soccer in Thailand much more developed," said Kiatprawut Ousted Thai Prime Minister Shinawatra says the money he used to buy Manchester City was legitimate, denouncing Thai accusations to the contrary as politically motivated. Thailand's graft-busting Asset Examination Committee (AEC), set up after last year's bloodless coup, said the takeover money was never mentioned in the asset declarations all Thai politicians have to make. It ordered commercial banks last month to freeze 73 billion baht ($2.16 billion) of Thaksin's money in domestic accounts, accusing him of amassing wealth during five years in office by abusing his power and looking to freeze his overseas assets.

ITN Source | August 11, 2007

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