"Attakorn" reveals that the budget for international sporting events is insufficient for sending athletes to participate after being cut from over 2 billion baht to 1.2 billion baht.

Today (3 Feb) 9:55 AM at Government House, Mr. Attakorn Sirilatthayakon, Minister of Tourism and Sports, stated that yesterday, 2 February 2026, representatives from the Olympic Committee informed him of the budget cut. He has prepared some documents to clarify the matter to the prime minister at the meeting and to the deputy prime minister in charge of tourism and sports if any questions are raised on this issue. He expressed his unease at yesterday's news report, noting the cut in the budget for supporting athletes to compete in international sporting events from over 2 billion baht to 1.2 billion baht.

Mr. Attakorn added that the documents he possesses show the planning and approval process from the fund committee beforehand. The committee has set a framework of approximately 4.1 billion baht for 2026, which includes 12 projects. One of these projects involves 1.2 billion baht for sending athletes to compete in various sporting events. Therefore, a meeting was held in August 2025, when I was at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. At the end of September 2025, the Ministry of Finance responded positively to the committee's proposal.

Mr. Atthakorn further stated that the framework remains the same. Regarding the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, he has worked closely with the executives of the Sports Authority of Thailand and confirmed that they need to make adjustments and find ways for Thailand, through the Sports Authority of Thailand and the fund, to send athletes to compete with reasonable funds. He emphasized that there are no problems and thanked the Olympic Committee for their concern, as they were also a member of the committee that proposed the 1.2 billion baht.

Mr. Atthakorn concluded by saying that upon his appointment... "I am happy to help improve anything that can be fixed. Furthermore, two weeks ago, I represented the Deputy Prime Minister, who chaired the Sports Fund board meeting, in proposing a pilot program for paying athlete allowances. This was necessary because there have been ongoing problems, such as athletes complaining about delayed payments or insufficient funds. We wanted to directly pay athletes without going through the associations. We are confident that this approach will resolve the issues. While it may be unfamiliar to some, we believe it will be a long-term solution. We invite Olympic executives to collaborate, as we believe transparency in athlete care is paramount."

Mr. Atthakorn added, "I am working within the framework of the document I inherited. When I took over, the approved budget was 1.2 billion baht, but the actual need was over 10 billion baht. The amount submitted to the Ministry of Finance for review and approval was only 1.2 billion baht."

When asked if this would be sufficient for sending athletes to the Asian Games, Mr. Atthakorn replied, "Personally, I believe it might not be enough. Therefore, it is my duty as acting chairman to find ways to ensure Thailand can send a sufficient and appropriate number of athletes."

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