Is Thailand A Rising Soccer 7s Destination?

For most people, Thailand is a place with wonderful beaches and nice temples

. For some others it is an adventure destination with mountain biking, trekking and rafting. Sport tourism is on the rise now with a category of people wanting to visit the country, but also willing to participate in a soccer training, friendly games or tournaments.

Other sports like rugby, cricket or volley-ball are also popular but this article is going to describe soccer or football specifically. A group of sport men or women may join one of the following activity:

- Soccer training camps

- Friendly football games

- Soccer 7s tournaments

A soccer training camp is a good way to enjoy Thailand while practicing football. A team of amateur or professional football players can chose training in the morning while enjoying the beach or other visits in the afternoon. Isn't that a wonderful way to merge leisure and the love of sport? The lively nightlife is not to be forgotten with many places offering food and entertainment at a very competitive price.

A friendly football game is a good opportunity to meet another group of people with the same interest. It is feasible for a group of players from Hong-Kong to play with an European team in any of the Thai provinces when the games have been organized locally. Through football new friendships are made and further activities such as pool and beer drinking can be shared.

International soccer 7s tournaments are regularly scheduled in the year with three international tournaments in Phuket, one in Bangkok and one in Pattaya. Other Thai destinations like Koh Samui and Chiang Mai may see more sport tourists when games will become available there. A women soccer 7s tournament is also considered as more interest has been seen for this group.

The Thai Soccer 7s Tournaments are usually played on 2 days during the week-end, on grass pitches of 70 x 45 meters, full size goals, 7 minute halves, no offside, rolling substitution and a maximum of 12 registered players. Teams are usually made of non-Thais even for Thailand teams who mainly have expatriate players. The Phuket events have regular teams who have participated since the first tournament in 2003.

FIFA rules apply during these tournaments and are enforced by an international team of referees from Australia, Singapore and Thailand. The masters over 35 years or over 40 years and the open are the two categories of the tournaments. Champions and runners-up of the Cup, Plate and Bowl are both awarded a trophy for their achievement and players also receive medallions.

Welcome and awards parties are organized in entertainment places for each tournament week-end, adding to the event an atmosphere of friendship among players and referees of different nationalities. The newest international soccer 7s tournament in Thailand is the Phuket Spicy Soccer 7s, the hottest event in Phuket during February!

by: Michel Gerard

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