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Fifa Pulls Plug on Bangkok's $40m Futsal Arena Half-way Through World Cup |
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Football - 07 Nov 2012 - Fifa, soccer’s world governing body, has moved matches of the 2012 Futsal World Cup away from Thailand’s new Bangkok Futsal Arena, the proposed venue for the tournament’s closing matches, because of safety concerns and incomplete construction.
The arena, which has cost between Bt1.2 billion ($39 million) and Bt1.3 billion to construct, was due to stage two quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final of the tournament, but Fifa has moved those fixtures to other venues in Bangkok a little over a week before it was due to host its first games of the tournament.
Fifa said that, despite the installation of a new pitch at the arena, key criteria laid down at the end of last month had not been met and that the safety of the spectators, teams and other visitors could not be compromised.
Next week’s quarter-finals that were due to take place at the 12,000-seat Bangkok Futsal Arena will now be staged at the Nimibutr Gymnasium and the Hua Mak Indoor Stadium, two venues that have already staged group-stage matches at the tournament.
Speaking at a press conference, Bangkok’s governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra resisted calls to quit over the fiasco, saying: "I will not resign, and please don’t blame BMA [Bangkok Metropolitan Administration] and the staff. Just blame me."
Sportcal
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