Chao Amigos! Hello Thailand: football, migration and sustainability in Thailand

Abstract

Since its establishment over two decades ago, the Thailand Premier League (or officially known as the Toyota Thai Premier League) has seen enormous growth in sponsorship, driving the league to one of the top in the South-east Asian region. Over the years, South American players have looked to Thailand for opportunities to play at the professional level. As South America is home to the world’s greatest footballing heroes, South American players are in high demand, especially in Thailand, where push and pull factors have lead these football players to find better opportunities. Accordingly, the factors pushing players out of their home countries and pulling them to Thailand have created crucial migration networks that assisted the systematic flow of footballing talents. The research shows the primary push factors include: low pay, high barriers to entry and volatile playing conditions. On the other hand, a variety of pull factors draw players half way around the globe to Thailand. These pull factors include: high incomes, higher opportunity to play and a safer working environment. Considering that over 112 non-Thai players played in the Thailand Premier League in 2012 season alone, football migration has proven to be extremely important in drawing South Americans to Thailand. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of our results, with particular attention on the sustainability of the Thailand Premier League.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

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3. Ibid.

4. Matichon, ‘Government Fuels an Additional 210 million Baht to Support Thai League’.

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7. Pattanamongkol, ‘Thailand Premier League Insider’.

8. Ibid.

9. El Telégrafo Online, ‘Los Sueldos Del Fútbol Local Son Atractivos Para Extranjeros’.

10. Riley, ‘Study Note – Push and Pull Factors behind Migration’.

11. Ibid.

12. Player 1: Eduardo (player, Osotsapa FC), in discussion with the authors, February 2012.

13. Ibid.

14. Player 2: (Unattributed Interview) (player, Chonburi FC), in discussion with the authors, January 2012.

15. Arbena, ‘Generals and Goles: Assessing the Connection between the Military and Soccer in Argentina’.

16. Arbena, ‘Sport, Development, and Mexican Nationalism, 1920–1970’.

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18. T. Bar-On, ‘The Ambiguitites of Football, Politics, Culture, and Social Transformation in Latin America’.

19. Wilson Duarte et al., ‘Football Violence: A View from around the World’.

20. World Bank, ‘Migrants from Developing Countries to Send Home $414 Billion in Earnings in 2013’.

21. Player 3: (Luiz) (player, Ratchaburi FC), in discussion with the authors, January 2012.

22. Player 4: Cobo (player, former Chonburi FC and Trad FC player), in discussion with Chuenchanok Siriwat, January 2012.

23. Player 3: (Luiz) (player, Ratchaburi FC), in discussion with the authors, January 2012.

24. Player 5: Ferreira (player, TTM Chiang Mai FC), in discussion with Chuenchanok Siriwat, December 2011.

25. Player 2: (Unattributed Interview) (player, Chonburi FC), in discussion with the authors, January 2012.

26. Player 5: Ferreira (player, TTM Chiang Mai FC), in discussion with Chuenchanok Siriwat, December 2011.

27. Magee and Sugden, ‘The World at Their Feet: Professional Football and International Labor Migration’.

28. Royal Thai Senate, ‘Professional Sport Act’.

29. Taylor, ‘Global Players?: Football Migration and Globalization, C. 1930–2000’.