Badminton Association Admits Sponsorship Blunder, Apologizes to Yonex

Regarding the selection of a new sponsor for the Badminton Association of Thailand, which reports indicate involves an eight-year contract, questions have been raised about why a top-tier badminton brand was not chosen. Recently, "Coach Top" Pakkawat Vilailak, a former Thai national badminton player and coach, provided clarification via Facebook. He stated he was one of the working group members appointed to handle negotiations. Addressing why the association did not negotiate with the previous sponsor first, he revealed that Yonex had submitted a proposal to continue its sponsorship from the moment the previous contract expired. However, the negotiators at that time neither responded nor took any action on Yonex's proposal, causing the association to lose the opportunity to continue the partnership and damaging relations with the partner. The association acknowledges this mistake without excuse — both in entrusting negotiations to another party and in allowing interference that caused damage. If such practices continued, the association president and current executive committee would be at fault, necessitating a change in approach and a review to correct the situation. The association accepts responsibility for what happened and has sincerely apologized to Yonex again, thanking them for their long-standing trust and willingness to support the association. The association has apologized directly and sent an official apology letter, intending to maintain good relations and friendship. As for Li-Ning and other brands, they did not express interest in sponsoring from the outset. A key constraint in negotiations was that BAT does not currently have any front-line athletes under its management. Regarding the Terms of Reference (TOR), the association set the conditions because it could not meet the conditions proposed by potential sponsors, adhering to the principle that terms must be practically fulfillable and must protect the rights and interests of the association, athletes, and sponsors, as clearly stated in the TOR. For example, for the TOYOTA Thailand Open Super 500 and Super 300 tournaments, the association cannot grant title sponsorship rights to another brand because it must protect the rights and interests of existing sponsors, and therefore could not accept proposals demanding such rights. Thanks to the media and all parties for the opportunity to clarify, and to all supporters who care about the development of Thai badminton.