The quiet and empty football fields across the capital city are a constant reminder of the pandemic’s ongoing impact on young people.  The government’s pandemic restrictions over the past months have closed all schools nationwide and canceled all youth sports activities.  It has been difficult for many people to see beyond obstacles to opportunities.

SEEDs members in Thailand are still investing in local leaders and local initiatives to develop youth through sports during the pandemic.   Although the heart of sports training happens on the neighborhood field in-person, the wider network of coaches is an important place for training, for strengthening inter-neighborhood relationships, and for building excitement among teams. 

As the government imposed increasing restrictions during the pandemic, it became more and more difficult for coaches to see any hope of returning to the football pitch soon.   Therefore, over the past several months the local futsal network that SEEDS organized several years ago came together online to support one another, learn from others, and dream about the future.

At one such meeting, SEEDS members and coaches assembled online to learn from a local man with 20 years of coaching experience on the neighborhood level.   He shared about his own love for football, how he started his local team, and some of the challenges he faced over the years to keep it going.   After that, the participants spent over 30 minutes asking him questions related to challenges they had been facing before the pandemic.  The interaction among coaches and the learning atmosphere pointed toward a hopeful future for football on the neighborhood level. 

We are trusting that meetings such as these will encourage and inspire local coaches to see not just obstacles in the current season, but new opportunities in the season to come.   We look forward to the day when sports fields such as this one come alive again.