“Noon,” son of Navin Chidchob, revealed that organizing 7-a-side football has both advantages and disadvantages, and progressing to 11-a-side football is not easy.
On 17 Jan 2026 GMT+7, Buriram United held an event to thank sponsors for the 2024/25 season after winning four championships: Thai League, League Cup, FA Cup, and the ASEAN Club Championship. They also announced merchandise sales totaling 292 million baht, over 480,000 spectators attending matches, and a 293% growth in social media views.
“Noon” Chanachon Chidchob, an executive of Buriram United, revealed that supporting 7-a-side football recently has many advantages, but he wants 11-a-side tournaments organized as well. Because if you want to go to the World Cup, 11-a-side football must be played.
“From our perspective, 7-a-side football at the club level does not develop into 11-a-side football. When Buriram won the 7-a-side championship, only one player, Thanakrit Chotmuangpak, played for the senior Buriram team. I’m not saying others aren’t good, but it takes time and loan arrangements. It’s like taking a futsal player to play football.”
“But the good thing is it’s definitely fun. 7-a-side football is like the '7 Color' tournament. Everyone understands it’s organized because everything costs less. But if we talk about progression, if you want to reach the 11-a-side World Cup but have kids play 7-a-side, does that make sense? It’s like wanting to learn English in England but speaking German; you still have to learn English when you get there. It’s similar in Thailand now: everyone has good basics, speed, and agility but lacks strength and can’t play the full 90 minutes. They excel at 7-a-side but can’t do much in 11-a-side because the foundation is taught in 7-a-side. If taught 11-a-side, the patterns might be different.”
“However, I understand that in tournaments like TSD, the U.S. women’s national team also plays 7-a-side and gains many online viewers. For me, Buriram’s number one goal is to promote players to the senior team. We want to organize youth leagues because youth team coaches want competitions. Otherwise, kids feel isolated playing in the U-21 league with no next step. When Buriram won the Youth League at U-18, it no longer exists. The players’ development fluctuates. Football must be viewed from the grassroots, not just by the output when players reach the senior team.”