Thai Triathlon Chief Sues Over 4.8 Billion Baht Budget

The president of Thailand's triathlon association filed suit at the Central Administrative Court on July 24 demanding that the Sports Authority of Thailand and the National Sports Development Fund disclose documents showing how 4.8 billion baht allocated annually has been spent. Dr. Wichit Sittinawong, president of the Thai Triathlon Association, named SAT, SAT Director Dr. Kongsakdi Yodmani, and NSDF Manager Thanuwakiart Junchoem as defendants, claiming sports associations have suffered hardship from inadequate budget allocations and fund distributions. He stated that sports associations are requesting disclosure of how the 4.8 billion baht was used in 2025 and 2026 to verify compliance with seven specified purposes under Article 42, warning that any expenditure outside these stated purposes would constitute illegal use of funds.

Dr. Wichit explained that while SAT and the fund claim insufficient money for sending athletes to major competitions like the Asian Games and SEA Games, the budget has grown from 2.2 billion to 4.8 billion baht annually, yet sports associations receive only 1.3 billion with no clear accounting for the remainder. He noted that since the SEA Games hosting, numerous sports associations remain owed compensation from 2023-2025, with coaches unpaid for months and outstanding debts accumulating. He emphasized he is not yet accusing anyone of corruption but seeking court-ordered disclosure to determine whether the funds were used appropriately, as direct appeals to authorities over years have been ignored. The court will now issue a summons for the defendants to respond, after which Dr. Wichit will file a rebuttal before the case proceeds to judicial review.