International football leagues have gained more popularity among Thai fans, especially the English Premier League. If you ask random Thai people what their favourite football team is, most will answer Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea. Some fans share a strong bond with a particular club, as if they were born in England.
What's perhaps more interesting is that the popularity of the Thai national team has also grown of late. Stadiums selling out within an hour of tickets going on sale has never happened here before. It's patriotism, but it's also something else. Thais are always ready to cheer any good team that plays hard, and Kiatisuk "Zico" Senamuang, the national coach, has brought happiness to Thai fans after the giddy victory at the AFF Suzuki Cup in December. Thai fans welcomed the win so much because we'd lost for such a long time. Twenty years ago, we were pleased with our squad, with players such as Zico himself, Dusit Chalermsan, Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul and others.
The team was one of the most successful in the history of Southeast Asian football. But after that, I stopped following the team because its performance dropped and there was no reason to be proud.
I'm not a soccer fan, but like most of my compatriots I did not want to miss any match the Thai team played at the recent AFF Suzuki Cup. It showed that despite conflicts in society, sports (especially when you're winning) can bind everyone in the nation together.
It is commonly believed that Thai athletes are good at individual sports such as tennis, badminton, boxing or weightlifting. We are competitive in these sports. But when it comes to team sports, especially football, Thai teams have a hard time working together.
We seem not to know how to be a team player, to connect with colleagues for a common result. With Thai football making strides, this notion has already changed to an extent.
I don't play football, but my seven-year-old daughter likes it. Every day on the way to school, we pass the Port Authority of Thailand with its large football stadium and my girl begs her dad to take her to watch a real game.
At her school, the football team is generally for boys only. Luckily (and unluckily, too) she was chosen as a reserve player, just in case any key players (boys) are unavailable. In the evenings, when I pick her up, she often has bruises on her legs and sometimes her knees, and complains that she had no time to play football as her teacher pushes her to practise wing kra-sorb (the sack race).
Again, an individual sport rather than working with a team. The basis of successful teamwork should begin at a young age, and though it may seem odd for boys and girls to play on the same football team, I believe it's possible when the game is not too rough. It is a good way for children to learn that working together is a skill and a necessary step towards victory or success.
It's team spirit and the ability to work hard as a group that can push Thailand forward.
Sasiwimon Boonruang is a writer for the Bangkok Post's Life section