Phuket bars to open late for soccer World Cup

PHUKET: Soccer fans will be pleased to hear that bars in Phuket will be allowed to stay open late to show South Africa 2010 World Cup matches, although alcohol sales regulations will still apply.

“Bars can show the soccer matches late, but they still have to follow the law limiting the hours when alcohol can be sold,” said Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong.

Bars can serve alcohol until midnight unless they have permission to do so until 1am from both the local District Office and the Interior Ministry’s Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA).

Certain venues inside entertainment zones that applied for permission before 2004 are still allowed to sell alcohol until 2am, a DOPA officer told the Gazette.

The first 2010 World Cup match will kick off on Friday, June 11 at 9pm local time, when hosts South Africa face Mexico.

Kick-off times will range from 6:30pm to 1:30am local time, meaning bars will need to stay open until around 3:30am to show the later matches.

The tournament will be broadcast on True Visions and Thai TV channels 3, 7, 9 and 11.

Those seeking English-language coverage of the matches on local cable might be disappointed, as customer service representatives at two local cable TV providers said they would only be carrying Thai-language feeds from free-to-air channels.

— Atchaa Khamlo