How Soccer Shapes Thailand as a Sport Destination
Posted: Sunday, December 13, 2009
by Michel Gerard
Reperage Group
For most tourists, Thailand is synonym of nice beaches and beautiful temples. For others it is more an adventure destination with trekking, mountain biking or rafting. Sport tourism attracts now another category of groups wanting to enjoy the country through 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:
- 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 possible for a group of players from Singapore to play with an Australian team in any Thai province when the game has 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 run during the year with 3 international tournaments in Phuket, one in Pattaya and one in Bangkok. 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.
The rules of the FIFA apply for these events and are enforced by an international team of referees from Singapore, Australia and Thailand. The masters over 35 years or over 40 years and the open are the two categories of the tournaments. Both winners and runners-up of the Cup, Plate and Bowl are awarded trophies for their achievement and each player also receive a medallion.
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!
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Michel Gerard is a Travel author living in Asia. Visit the Thailand Soccer 7s website to know more about the International Soccer 7s tournaments in Thailand. => http://www.thai7s.com
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