Football fever has slowly turned into a contagion in the country
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The entire country is in the grip of unprecedented football fever and it was heart-warming to see the first leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup final between Thailand and Malaysia held in front of a full house at the Rajamangala National Stadium last Wednesday.
Meanwhile thousands of die-hard fans, who could not get entry into the stadium, sat and watched the match on a giant screen temporarily set up at a nearby venue.
Last night’s second leg at Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Jalil Stadium, which can seat 100,000 people, has shown that a football competition among the Asean teams, minnows of world football, surprisingly has widespread appeal.
It is not the first time that excitement about football, regarded as the most popular sport in Thailand, has reached fever pitch. Football mania swept the country after several competitions, including the 1995 South East Asian Games in Chiang Mai.
The pictures of queues of over one kilometre in front of ticket kiosks on the day the Thai squad played reflected the passion the people have for the game.
Fans also lined up to buy jerseys of their favourite players and wore them on the day. Many carried the national flag into the stadium and matches were discussed in depth.
The game itself has created many heroes. The talismanic Kiatisuk “Zico” Senamuang, the most successful Thai footballer of his generation with more than 100 appearances for the national team and presently the side’s striker-cum-coach, has already become a legend.
Patriotism is one element that creates football fever. However, it is of transitory nature.
The fever lasts as long as the team comes up with good performances. The euphoria slowly dies once the team starts under-performing.
For example, the Thai team was down in the dumps after making first round exits in the 2009 and 2011 SEA Games, and the Football Association of Thailand was mired in one controversy after another. The fans simply abandoned the team and focused on other games.
Thai football will have a bright future only if the officials get their act together and run the game professionally like they do it in Germany, England and Spain. Long term plans need to be drawn, training and match schedules need to be planned intelligently and well-qualified coaches have to be appointed at the grassroots level.
Most importantly, the players need to be taken care of financially. If there is financial security, parents encourage their children to take up the game.
Winning or losing the AFF Suzuki Cup final doesn’t matter much. Thailand have embarked on a new chapter in their football history and soon enough the fever will become a contagion.
