Premiership teams head for Phuket

PHUKET: First they were coming, then there was not enough money and they were not coming. But now they will definitely be here tomorrow – representatives of the English Premier League teams Everton, Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City.

The three teams will host a one-day kid’s soccer camp at Surakul Stadium, from 10 am to 5:30 pm, open to all-comers.

Eam Thavornvongwongse, President of the Phuket Sports Association, explained, “At first we thought we had to cancel the soccer camp as we lacked the budget for it. However, when we told the Premiership teams this, they reiterated that they specifically wanted to visit Phuket, so the Football Association of Thailand came up with the funds.”

Everton, who placed fourth in last season’s Premier League and whose main sponsor is Chang Beer, is managed by David Moyse. He will be accompanied to Phuket by Scottish national team captain David Weir and English international goalkeeper Nigel Martyn.

Manchester City will be represented during the island visit by former England international Stuart “Psycho” Pearce, Danny Mills and Trevor Sinclair, while the Bolton team, led by team manager Sam Allardyce, will be represented by Welsh international Gary Speed and Nigerian international Jay-Jay Okocha.

The three teams will play invitational matches in Bangkok against the Thai national team from July 20 to 23, with a short break in between for the flying visit to Phuket.