🇹🇭 Football could be a deciding factor in Thailand's 2026 election race

Almost every Thai club is closely linked to a politician or political party!

More than 30,000 fans turned up to watch the final of a seven-a-side school football tournament in Bangkok two months ago.

Among them were some of the country’s most powerful politicians. They wanted to be seen at the match after Monthong Wittaya School’s fairytale run became a national story.

An election is coming in February and this was a valuable chance to campaign.

This sort of thing is commonplace in a country where politics and football are tightly entwined. Almost every Thai club has close links to a political party or politician. Not even school teams are free from governmental association.

When Thailand goes to the polls in February, football will have played a part in deciding where the votes fall.