Thai football team says stadium renovation woes force them to pay for own training venue

The Thailand national football team has encountered a series of problems since they arrived in the Philippines over the weekend for the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Aside from accommodation and food and drinks issues, the Thailand squad also said that it was forced to find a new training ground since the Rizal Memorial Stadium is still under construction.

According to the official Instagram account of the Thailand national football team on Monday, the rehearsal field that was prepared for the team "was not comfortable in any way."

The venue also had no bathrooms available, which prompted the Thai players to change clothes inside their cars instead. 

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the traffic congestion in the metropolis caused the Thais' practice to be delayed by 20 minutes. This was also one of the reasons why they decided to move their training venue.

The Thailand team will now practice at the Circuit Makati Blue Pitch, with the Thailand Football Association shouldering the rental fee themselves.

The Thais, who happen to be the SEA Games defending champion, on Saturday also said they had to cancel their first day of training due to delays at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the traffic congestion in Metro Manila.

In a press conference at the Century Park Hotel Manila Sunday, head coach Akira Nishino said the incident forced them to train on the streets that night.

"For the training yesterday, from the hotel to the training ground, it takes two hours so for us it's not realistic and we cannot make it by the time so we had to manage ourselves to have a training on the streets," Nishino said.

Men's football will kick off on Monday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Thailand is set to face Indonesia on Tuesday, 3 p.m. — Ma. Angelica Garcia/BM, GMA News