Rajamangala stadium will be ready for AFC U23

Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn is confident that Rajamangala National Stadium will be ready for next AFC U23 Championship.

Phiphat, accompanied by Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) governor Gongsak Yodmani and Football Association of Thailand (FAT) President Somyot Poompunmuang, recently inspected the stadium which will host some of the AFC U23 Championship in January.

After the inspection, Phiphat said: "I am confident that the renovation of Rajamangala National Stadium will be finished on schedule. By December we will have everything ready for the AFC U23 Championship."

Since the Chiang Mai 700th Anniversary Stadium was dropped from the list of venues for the tournament, Thailand has been looking for a replacement venue.

Thailand has only three official stadiums for the tournament - Thammasat in Pathum Thani, Rajamangala in Bangkok and Tinsulanonda in Songkhla. The FAT President said one possible plan now is to use Buriram’s Thunder Castle stadium.

AFC officials will be in Thailand to inspect the three currently available stadiums from Sept 20 to 24. Thailand has to meet Asian Football Confederation requirements or lose the right to host the prestigious championship.