Central Thailand

Central Thailand (central plain) is a region of Thailand, covering the broad alluvial plain of the Chao Phraya River. It is separated from northeast Thailand (Isan) by the Phetchabun mountain range. The Tenasserim Hills separate it from Myanmar to the west. In the north it is bounded by the Phi Pan Nam Range, one of the hilly systems of northern Thailand. The area was the heartland of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, and is still the dominant area of Thailand. Central Thailand contains the Thai capital of Bangkok and it is the most populated region in the country.

Definition

The grouping of Thai provinces into regions follow two major systems, in which Thailand is divided into either four or six regions. In the six-region system, commonly used in geographical studies, central Thailand extends from Sukhothai and Phitsanulok Provinces in the north to the provinces bordering the Gulf of Thailand in the south, excluding the mountainous provinces bordering Myanmar to the west and the coastal provinces of the east. The four-region system includes provinces only as far north as Chainat, Sing Buri, and Lopburi, and extends west and east to the borders of Myanmar and Cambodia.

Thailand

Coordinates: 15°24′N 101°18′E / 15.4°N 101.3°E / 15.4; 101.3

Thailand (/ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/ TY-lənd;Thai: ประเทศไทย, rtgs: Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, rtgs: Ratcha-anachak Thai; IPA: [râːt.tɕʰá.ʔāː.nāː.tɕàk tʰāj]), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; rtgs: Sayam), is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Myanmar. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest.

Thailand is governed by the National Council for Peace and Order that took power in the May 2014 coup d'état.Its monarchy is headed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has reigned since 1946 as Rama IX, as he is the ninth monarch of the Chakri Dynasty. He is currently the world's longest-serving head of state and the country's longest-reigning monarch; he has reigned for 7009219907440000000♠69 years, 250 days.

2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup

The 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup was the 7th FIFA Futsal World Cup, an international futsal tournament that took place from 1–18 November 2012 in Thailand. An extra four teams (increase to 24 from 20 at the 2008 event in Brazil) were competing at this World Cup.

Brazil defended their title, winning it for the fifth time, by defeating Spain in a rematch of the 2008 final 3–2 after extra time.

Bid process

Thailand beat bids from China, Iran, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Sri Lanka and Guatemala.

Qualification

The host nation, Thailand, qualified automatically.

Qualified nations

Venues

The matches were originally due to take place across four venues. Due to construction delays and failure to meet the security requirement, early matches scheduled at the Bangkok Futsal Arena were moved to the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium. After the final inspection on 5 November, FIFA announced that the Bangkok Futsal Arena had not sufficiently met the criteria. The two quarter-final matches would be played at Nimibutr Stadium, while Hua Mark Indoor Stadium would host the semifinals and the final.