This week, the writer is going to talk more about the role football plays during Thai labour recreation. There is often a suggested view that the football is not so much a sport, as it is a game for wagers.

Regularly, there is the Thai football tournament in Taiwan, where almost every team is from a different factory. In addition, each team has a sponsor who supports all the necessities such as the team kits, food, drink, medicine, transport fees and also competition fees. Consequently, there is an element of suspicion as to what the sponsor may be getting from this competition in return and the details are not entirely certain. 

Observing the activity more closely, we see that there is a great deal of seriousness behind this leisurely activity. Part of this stems from the fact that everyone in the team is carrying wagers on the game's performance.

As one of Thai labourers said, “Normally, we will bet a box of Thai beer for a practising match but the real competition matches might be bet on by the sponsor at about 20,0000 to 50,0000 dollars, and players might gain 1,000 to 2,000 dollars per a match. It's easy to get money from what is just about one hour. If we can get 1500 dollars, we're happy.” 

Football then goes beyond simple leisure, and offers another way to obtain money as well. Moreover, we find the lure of gambling coming into play, offering an excitement greater then the working environment of the factory. But with it's pleasures and earnings, comes the potential to fall foul and workers may find themselves much worse off if they cannot control themselves and take the necessary level of caution.