Thailand offers nearly $300,000 reward for AFF Cup championship

The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) announced the bonus when coach Kiatiusk and his team set off to begin their campaign to defend the Southeast Asian football title.

"The team will receive 10 million baht (about 282,000 USD) in bonus if they win the 2016 AFF Cup," FAT President Somyot Poompanmoung told Kom Chak Luek (Thailand) on November 16.

This statement was made by Mr. Somyot right before the Thai team left for Manila, Philippines to compete in the AFF Cup 2016. Coach Kiatisuk and his team are in Group B of the tournament, playing in the Philippines. They will meet Indonesia (November 19), Singapore (November 22) and then the co-host team in the final match (November 25).

The Thai team arrived in the Philippines on the evening of November 16, ready to conquer the AFF Cup 2016. Photo: KCL.

Thailand is the reigning AFF Cup champion. They and Singapore are one of the two most successful countries in Southeast Asia's top football tournament, with four titles.

FAT and coach Kiatisuk initially did not consider the AFF Cup as the number one priority in 2016. Instead, they wanted the Thai team to focus on a bigger ambition - winning a ticket to the 2018 World Cup, after reaching the final qualifying round of the Asian region.

But the results were not as expected in Group B - undefeated, with only one point after five matches - leaving Thailand with little chance of qualifying for Russia 2018. They therefore decided to focus on the regional stage.

"Defending the Southeast Asian championship is an important goal," Kiatisuk said after the 2-2 draw with Australia in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers on November 15. To realize this goal, the 43-year-old coach retained most of his players who had just gathered for the match with Australia when announcing the list of 23 players for the AFF Cup.

According to VNE