HO CHI MINH - Vietnam's billiards stronghold, with its countless billiard clubs, players, fans and sponsors, presented itself at last week's World Cup in Ho Chi Minh City as a country with many opportunities, a paradise for billiard promoters. Major international events are planned for next season by both the UMB (world federation) and the PBA (Korean professional league). Still it seems that UMB and PBA organizations are in danger of a clash regarding the events to organize in Vietnam. The world federation's calendar for next year includes a World Cup (May 2024) and the 3-Cushion World Championship (September 2024). For the upcoming season, the PBA has also announced two events in its Tour in Vietnam. According to comments from the PBA camp, the UMB wants to stop their development in Vietnam: Farouk Barki, the UMB president, would have threatened the Vietnam Billiards & Snooker Federation to remove the World Championship from the sport calendar in case of organization of PBA events.
Since five years, the controversy between UMB and PBA, as it's well known, led to lengthy suspensions of players with contracts at the PBA. As a result, Frédéric Caudron, Jae ho Cho, David Zapata, Filippos Kasidokostas and, recently, Dani Sánchez and Semih Sayginer, among others, are no longer allowed to play in UMB’s international events. This is the main issue from 3-Cushion fans point of view but of course, the commercial interest of partners of both organizations are the hidden face of the conflict.
A meeting was held on Saturday 27 of May during the World Cup in Ho Chi Minh, in which the two parties discussed rapprochement and cooperation. Those negotiations did not lead to any result. The brief comment by Farouk Barki (UMB) was: "I will first talk to my board and the federations, so no comment for now. We cannot resolve a five-year conflict in one day.''
Mister Heejin Lee (PBA manager) reported one day after the meeting: ''We have not been able to share a vision for the future. With Mr Barki, it is impossible, he has not prepared for any kind of cooperation between the two organizations. Barki wants to ignore and block PBA events in Vietnam, but we have signed a contract with the Vietnamese government.''
The PBA (men's) and LPBA (women's) do not yet have a final schedule for the events in Vietnam. Mr Lee: ''But almost all fans of three-cushion and players love the PBA and LPBA after top players from Vietnam successfully transferred to the PBA. Besides, the PBA league is beneficial for Vietnam as there is only a two-hour time difference. So they can watch all the games live.''
Following the meeting in Ho Chi Minh, Mister Heejin Lee will also travel to Amsterdam on the 11th of June to meet with European CEB board members and delegates of federations, among others. The Korean is willing to compromise with the UMB and wants to explain. ''I believe the lack of information about the PBA and its project to develop 3-Cushion is a blocker today. I'm willing to meet federation leaders to explain who we are, where we are going and how we can work together. We should try to change the stalemate."
That was the intention as well for the meeting in Ho Chi Minh with Farouk Barki. ''But it did not lead to any plan for cooperation" explained Heejin Lee.
While in Vietnam for the World Cup in Ho Chi Minh, UMB limited itself to announcing that its partners (AfreecaTV and Innocean) have asked for more globalization of UMB events with Grand Prix 3-cushion tournaments in Asia and Europe in 2024. The statement said: ''According to the rules of the Vietnamese government and the Olympic Committee, all events in Vietnam must be recognized by the IOC and thus fall under the umbrella of the UMB.'' That statement was supposed to jeopardise the PBA tournaments in Vietnam but at the same time, the PBA and its commercial entity (FMG) got a license and approval from the Vietnamese National Committee of Literature and Arts to launch their activities.
Furthermore, the UMB is not yet to come up with any statement on the meeting with the PBA. Farouk Barki did not want to comment even after the Ho Chi Minh World Cup.
The UMB President surrounded by ACBC and VBSF officials
Heejin Lee, as PBA manager, signing the license agreement of FMG with Vietnam authorities