Two months after Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan assigned seven private companies to discuss broadcast of tournament, which begins on June 14, it has been confirmed that TrueVisions was chosen as the broadcaster.

TrueVisions owned by Charoen Pokphand or CP, one of the seven companies, will broadcast all 64 games in 4K format, the first time a sporting event will be introduced with the highest resolution images to Thai audiences. 4K is four times clearer than the high definition format.

However, according to the government’s “Must Have” policy, people in Thailand must be able to watch major sporting events including World Cup, Olympics, Asian Games and SEA Games for free. As a result, fans can watch the Cup on three free TV channels – Channel 5, Amarin and True4U as well.

Daily games can be watched at 10pm and 1am in the group stages, while the opening and closing ceremonies can be watched on True4U in standard definition format. However, further details will be revealed by Prawit during a press conference at Kesakomon House on Monday.

Widely considered one of the greatest players of his generation and among the most gifted midfielders of all time, Iniesta, 33, said Friday he would close his Barcelona career at the end of the season.

But he will also be remembered as the humble Galactico, almost the anti-star, who spurned the bling and trappings of the modern football hero for the life of a quiet family man away from the media glare.

Even so the modest, diminutive national treasure who scored the winning goal for Spain in the 2010 World Cup final and led Barcelona to the treble in 2009 and 2015, steps away from Camp Nou as the most decorated Spanish player of all time with more than 30 trophies for club and country.

“You have to say he is the most important player of this winning era that started in 2004,” said Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

“He arrived here at the age of 12 and has had his entire career here. He has been a shining example both for the sport and himself personally, right until the last game last weekend (in the Copa Del Rey). All parents would want to have a son like Iniesta.”

– Creative genius –

And all teams would like to have the creative genius and the character of the 1.70m (5ft 7in) wizard known for his dribbling and penetrative dashes that cut through the best defences the world over the past 14 years.

For Lionel Messi, Iniesta’s steely inner strength when the going got tough was as important as the outward brilliance.

“On the pitch I like him to be near me, particularly when a game takes a turn for the worse, when things get difficult. That’s when I say to him: ‘Come closer’,” the Argentinian star was quoted as saying in Iniesta’s book, ‘The Artist’.

Few Barcelona players have won a standing ovation from fans of bitter rivals Real Madrid but Iniesta earned the rare tribute when he led Barca to a stunning 4-0 win in the Classico at the Bernabeu stadium in 2015.

– Bronze Statue –

Born in the village of Fuentealbilla, between Madrid and Valencia, where a bronze statue commemorates him, Iniesta was scouted by Barcelona as a 12-year-old.

He has been a rock through a career with four Champions League and seven Spanish league titles after making his debut at 18, scoring 57 goals in 669 club appearances.

“He’s so good that it is impossible not to play him,” said Iniesta’s former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola.

“Nobody has a better reading of space and time.

“But, above that, he has the ability to unbalance opposition teams. He is the player that always kills you in attacks and he is always there in the biggest games.”

Yet, just as key to Iniesta’s status as a national treasure in Spain as his World Cup winner, is a humility often at odds with modern football and the ostentatious lifestyle of its highly paid stars.

“Hero? No way,” he told El Pais on how his life changed after the goal against the Netherlands in Johannesburg that clinched the 2010 World Cup for Spain.

“Heroes are those who fight against illnesses, or who have to emigrate to feed their children.

“I am a privileged man who plays football and who, sometimes, has the luck to make people happy by scoring a goal or giving a pass to help win a game.

“That is the good thing about this national team, that we have given joyful days to those anonymous heroes who don’t often get the chance to smile.”

The two managers have enjoyed a spiky relationship since the Portuguese arrived as manager of Chelsea in 2004 and deposed Arsenal’s “Invincibles” as champions.

Famously, Mourinho called Wenger a “voyeur” and a “specialist in failure” while, in the early days of their feud, in 2005, Wenger responded by calling Mourinho “stupid” and “disconnected with reality”.

As recently as October 2014, the two managers were involved in an ugly touchline row that saw them almost come to physical blows in a game between Arsenal and Chelsea — an example of the sort of behaviour Mourinho now says he regrets.

“Regrets? Little negative episodes, yes I do and probably he also does,” Mourinho told the press at United’s training base.

“There are little things where it would obviously have been better without them, some gestures, some words would be better without it. I feel better now without it, no doubt about it.

“But again when I arrived in England 2004, Arsenal was the champion and it was the famous champions of the Invincibles. And I arrived and for the next couple of years was with them — Bergkamp, Thierry, Campbell, amazing teams. So again thank you very much for that, they pushed us to the limits.”

Mourinho said he hoped United fans, who have not always treated Wenger with respect, would give him a good send-off on Sunday.

“I always feel the biggest rivals are our biggest friends because they’re the ones that pushed us to the limit,” said the United manager.

– Arsenal v Man Utd rivalry –

“And I think Manchester United fans know that until 2004, for about a decade, it was between Manchester United and Arsenal. It was between Sir Alex (Ferguson) and Mr Wenger.

“And I think that these great teams Arsenal had and the fight shoulder to shoulder with Manchester United made Manchester United better and better. I hope he has a good reaction — if not good, not bad at all, and from us, as a club, he is going to feel the respect we have.”

Mourinho could not let the occasion pass without a small dig at his old rival, when he claimed that if United were in the Europa League this season, they would have won the competition.

After Arsenal threw away a lead to draw 1-1 with Atletico Madrid in the semi-final first leg at the Emirates, Mourinho’s point was clear.

“Last season we won the Europa League and if we played Europa League this year we’d win it too,” he said.

Mourinho, looking to consolidate second place in the Premier League, also stressed that goalkeeper David de Gea is not leaving United.

The 27-year-old Spain international, who is approaching the last year of his contract, has regularly been linked with Real Madrid.

When asked about a potential summer departure for De Gea, Mourinho responded: “No chance.”

In the mixed doubles quarter-finals, last year’s runners-up Dechapol Puavaranurkoh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai went down to China’s Zhang Nan and Li Yinhui 16-21 16-21 in 38 minutes.

In the women’s doubles quarter-finals, seventh-seeded Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai fell to Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirato 19-21 13-21.

All national players including world No 4 Ratchanok Intanon will take a long break to prepare for the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup due in Bangkok from May 20-27.

Wanheng Menayothin, a WBC minimumweight champion who is unknown outside boxing circles despite his 49 wins, faces the challenger in northeastern Thailand on May 2.

Buzz has slowly been building in Thailand for weeks as Wanheng — dubbed “dwarf-giant” among a list of curious monikers — nears his 50th fight.

His record has drawn him into an unlikely comparison with Floyd “Money” Mayweather, the flash, bankable boxing great who retired last year as one of the world’s richest sports stars with his unbeaten 50-0 record intact.

“I want to win, because it’s an important fight, to equal Floyd,” the seasoned 32-year-old said at his Bangkok gym on Friday.

“Estrada wants to take my belt. I want to tell him that it will be a bit difficult,” Wanheng added, with a wry smile.

The Thai boxer’s legal name is Chayaphon Moonsri.

But he is better known by the nickname dwarf-giant — on account of punching power that belies his size — and “Five-Star Grilled Chicken” because of a sponsorship deal with a Thai food company.

Wanheng has fought mostly against similarly low-key regional fighters and has 17 knockouts.

But Estrada vowed to cut the run short at a promotional event to plug next week’s fight at a Bangkok boxing gym.

“Menayothin is a good fighter, but I will stop him on May 2,” he said.

The showdown is in front of the City Hall at Nakhon Ratchasima, a sleepy city a few hours drive from Bangkok.

Piyarat Vachirarattanawong, part of the promotion team, said that while Western boxing is not as popular as Thailand’s kickboxing martial art Muay Thai, the fight has generated more than the usual interest.

“The attention is better than other fights in Thailand, because of the [Mayweather] record,” he said.

Proceeds from the event  will be donated to improve the health and well-being of child patients and their families. The running event includes 2 categories which are Mini Marathon 10.5 Km. (Entry fee Bt 500) and Fun Run 3 Km. (Entry fee Bt 400). Each applicant will get a beautiful jersey and commemorative medal.

All participants will enjoy tasty foods, fun games at family fun fair by McDonald’s and sponsors as well as compete for many prizes. For online registration, please connect website; http://bit.ly/2DQYmtr or contact Amazing Field at Tel. 02 277 6670-1 from now until May 26, 2018. For more information, please visit [www.rmhc.or.th]www.rmhc.or.th or www.facebook.com/rmhcthailand

Albion head to Newcastle United on Saturday knowing anything less than a victory will condemn them to the second tier.

Even three points at St James’s Park is likely to mean only a stay of execution for West Brom, who are eight points from safety with three games remaining.

It is a bleak predicament for a club that has spent the past eight years among the English elite — but many believe Albion have only themselves to blame for joining the ultra-conservative trend of Premier League teams asking the usual suspects to get them out of trouble.

When Albion parted company with Tony Pulis in November after fans grew tired of his dour tactics, the club’s Chinese owner Lai Guochuan turned to Alan Pardew, a former team-mate of West Brom technical director Nick Hammond.

Pardew’s track record of mediocrity at West Ham United, Southampton, Crystal Palace and other clubs failed to excite supporters and proved a disastrous choice as he lasted just 18 league games, winning only once.

By the time Pardew was dismissed in April — following a run of eight successive defeats — Albion were destined for relegation and he had the worst Premier League win percentage, at 5.5 percent, of any West Brom manager.

Since Pardew’s departure, Albion have looked far more dynamic under the guidance of interim boss Darren Moore, the kind of up-and-coming young coach who the Premier League’s lesser lights would do well to embrace.

Despite constant complaints about a perceived foreign invasion, David Moyes became the eighth British manager between the ages of 50 and 70 to be appointed out of 14 slots filled when he took the helm at West Ham in November.

– ‘People who have failed’ –

However, hiring these supposed survival specialists has often backfired, with Stoke and Southampton’s faith in experience looking misguided

Moyes, Everton’s Sam Allardyce, Palace’s Roy Hodgson, Pulis and Southampton’s Mark Hughes have now had 25 Premier League jobs between them as they move from one attempted rescue mission to another.

That group has enjoyed a degree of relative success in their careers, but Joey Barton believes fresh faces would prove a wiser investment.

Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe and Burnley’s Sean Dyche have shown what young English managers can accomplish given the opportunity, while in Germany, Bundesliga clubs regularly promote their own coaches, leading to the emergence of Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann.

Barton, who will take charge of third-tier Fleetwood Town next season, told TalkSport: “It shows how poor the managerial pool is when you look at some of the appointments recently. It’s people who’ve failed.

“Football management is one of the few jobs where you can be absolutely crap and get paid a lot of money for being crap because you get sacked.

“But then you walk back into another job because clubs think it’s going to work for them.”

Hughes was axed by Stoke after a wretched run pushed them towards the bottom three this season, yet he resurfaced in March at Southampton.

The 54-year-old has won only one of his six games and, with his third-bottom team four points from safety ahead of Saturday’s clash against Bournemouth, he is in danger of effectively relegating two sides in one season.

Blame for Southampton’s misery also lies with his unlamented predecessor Mauricio Pellegrino, but Stoke’s decision to appoint Paul Lambert following Hughes’s exit in January was no more inspiring.

Lambert had done little of consequence at Wolves, Aston Villa, Blackburn and Norwich.

The 48-year-old takes second-bottom Stoke to Liverpool on Saturday with his team four points adrift of safety after an 11-game winless run.

Yet whether clubs learn from those cautionary tales remains in doubt.

World number one Nadal, chasing an 11th title at the tournament, a week after claiming the Monte Carlo Masters for an 11th time, will next face Slovakia’s Martin Klizan.

Qualifier Klizan, ranked at 140, knocked out Novak Djokovic in the second round and reached the last eight on Thursday with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Spain’s Feliciano Lopez.

It was Nadal’s 397th match win on clay in a career which includes 76 titles on all surfaces.

He set up the foundation for victory by winning nine straight games from 1-1 in the first set to 4-0 in the second set against Garcia-Lopez, the 34-year-old world number 69.

However, Nadal shrugged off his 40-set landmark.

“This record doesn’t matter but if I keep winning sets it will mean that I keep winning matches. I don’t think I can win all the sets from here to Roland Garros,” said 31-year-old Nadal, who will seek to win an 11th French Open in Paris at the conclusion of the clay-court season in June.

He also warned of the dangers posed by Klizan, a fellow left-hander who defeated him in Beijing in 2014.

“He has won three matches in the tournament so far, he has the ability to play at a very high level and can be a dangerous player.”

Second seed Grigor Dimitrov had a far tougher afternoon, needing to save two match points to beat Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (10/8) in a match which lasted 10 minutes short of three hours.

Dimitrov will next play fifth seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain, who saved three match points to defeat French 11th seed Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (8/6) in two hours and seven minutes.

Carreno Busta wrapped up victory on his fifth match point.

Third seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria, the runner-up to Nadal in Barcelona last year, reached the last eight with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 victory over Slovakian lucky loser Jozef Kovalik.

Thiem will next face Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece who saw off Spanish 10th seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 7-5.

Belgian fourth seed David Goffin reached the last eight for the first time with a 2-6, 7-6 (2/7), 6-0 victory over Karen Khachanov, avenging his defeat at the hands of the Russian at the same stage 12 months ago.

On Friday, Goffin will tackle Roberto Bautista Agut, who beat Spanish countryman and recent Marrakech clay-court champion Pablo Andujar 6-4, 6-1.

Antoine Griezmann’s away goal eight minutes from time is a body blow to Wenger’s hopes of bowing out after 22 years on a high in the final on May 16, and Arsenal’s chances of playing Champions League football next season.

Sime Vrsaljko’s early red card handed the Gunners the initiative, however, they were made to rue a host of missed chances before and after Alexandre Lacazette headed them in front on the hour mark.

“I feel we produced the performance we wanted to produce, but the result is not in line with the performance,” said Wenger.

“We can only look at ourselves for tonight’s result because 1-0 is a perfect result at home. It was up to us not to make a mistake…it is a story we have seen before.”

Atletico coach Diego Simeone was also sent to the stands shortly after Vrsaljko’s dismissal, but the Spaniards resisted manfully and Simeone hailed their resistence.

“You don’t have any idea how hard it is to defend and defend and defend,” said Simeone. “You have to have huge balls to defend for more than 80 minutes like that.

“These players of Atletico Madrid are heroes to resist like that.”

Arsenal now need to become the first away team to score in 12 matches at Atletico’s Wanda Metropolitano stadium next week to progress, and Simeone urged the home support to create an explosive atmosphere.

“Next week the stadium has to explode with positive energy,” added the Argentine.

“We can play well or badly but you don’t see this commitment everywhere…I have goosebumps thinking about next week already.”

There was a highly-charged atmosphere for Wenger’s penultimate home game in charge and the hosts were given plenty of encouragement early on, even when still up against Atletico’s full complement.

Lacazette volleyed off the outside of the post and forced Jan Oblak into the first of a series of fine saves with a header from close range.

– Simeone sent-off –

Vrsaljko had been booked within two minutes for bringing down Jack Wilshere.

And the Croatian left his side a man light after just 10 minutes when French referee Clement Turpin showed no leniency for another late challenge on Lacazette.

Moments later, Simeone was also dismissed by the officious referee for taking his protests too far when an Arsenal player wasn’t booked for what he thought was a similar foul.

Atletico’s excellent defensive record is what has carried them to five European semi-finals in seven seasons under Simeone.

The visitors battened down the hatches with 10 men, but were reliant on Oblak, who Wenger described as “one of the best goalkeepers in the world”, to keep them in the tie.

“Of course you come out tonight with a bitter taste because we had the chances to be in the final tonight,” added Wenger.

“The regret is we were not clinical enough.”

Atletico retreated ever deeper towards their own goal after the break and were finally punished on the hour mark when Wilshere’s deep cross found Lacazette rising above Lucas Hernandez to head in his seventh goal in seven games.

Arsenal could and should have added to their lead, but instead some comical defending cost them dearly when Atletico grabbed a vital away goal.

Griezmann outmuscled French international team-mate Laurent Koscielny and then benefited from a slip by Shkodran Mustafi after his initial effort had been saved by David Ospina to prod his 27th goal of the season into the roof of the net.

There was still time for Oblak to show why Griezmann isn’t the only Atletico player wanted by Europe’s elite with a spectacular one-handed save to turn Aaron Ramsey’s header behind and keep Los Rojiblancos on course for a third European final in five seasons.

The eighth-seeded pair, who lost to arch-rivals Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong of China in the title match last year, rallied back from a game down to move past Wang Chi-Lin and Lee Chia-Shin of Taiwan 11-21 21-18 21-18 and book a spot in the mixed doubles quarter-finals.

“After we played their game to lose the opener, we adjusted our game plan to turn things around. We are happy at how things worked out,” said Sapsiree, who was forced to take a five-month break after sustaining a knee injury during the SEA Games last August.

“I started my comeback a few months ago and I’m now completely healed. I just need more matches to regain my confidence and my top form,” added the 26-year-old Sapsiree, who reached four BWF finals with Dechapol last year before the injury break.

“My goal is to reach the final again this year. But I won’t put pressure on myself as I’m just returning from injury,” added the only player in the world to win singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles titles on the BWF Tour.

Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai, seeded seventh, were the other Thai pair to survive yesterday’s action. They ousted Meghana Jakkampudi and Poorvisha S Ram of India 21-8 21-9 in the women’s doubles.

Ratchanok Intanon 

The biggest Thai shock came with the exit of 2015 champion and world No 4 Ratchanok Intanon who was knocked out of the tournament by South Korean world No 15 Lee Jang Mi 21-19 17-21 15-21. Three other Thai ladies also failed to advance. Thai No 2 Nitchaon Jindapol went down to sixth seeded Chen Yufei of China  19-21 14-21 while Thai No 3 Pornpawee Chochuwong was also shown the exit, losing to Chinese eighth seeded He Bingjiao 10-21 12-21. Busanan Ongbamrungphan suffered her sixth staright defeat to seventh seeded Sung Ji Hyun 14-21 12-21.

In the men’s singles second round, Thai No 1 Khosit Phetpradap was toppled by seventh-seeded Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan 18-21 21-18 13-21.