"Coach Sakol Kliangprasert" shared a heartfelt reflection after winning The People Awards 2026 in the sports category—before preparing to part ways with "Monthongwittaya" to lead the team at "Putthirangsee Phibun." Tags: [Coach Sakol, People Awards 2026, sports award, Monthongwittaya, Putthirangsee Phibun]
On 6 Mar 2026 GMT+7, at the 5th The People Awards 2026: Shine Your Path event, Coach Sakol Kliangprasert, who is about to leave Monthongwittaya, received The People Awards 2026 in the sports category. He is set to coach the Putthirangsee Phibun School team in Chachoengsao Province.Tags: [People Awards, Coach Sakol, Monthongwittaya, Putthirangsee Phibun, Chachoengsao]
Coach Sakol opened up on stage after receiving the award: “Hello, I’m Teacher Sakol Kliangprasert, head coach of Monthongwittaya School. Before the competition, buying a lottery ticket gives you a better chance than us. Over 500 teams competed in a knockout format—one loss, and you’re out. Among those 500 teams, Monthongwittaya is very low-budget, with no chance to compete against others. I firmly believe luck favors the brave. Those who dare have a chance to win. I’ve always held this belief: we must be brave. We have no rankings or titles, and all our players come from simple backgrounds and aren’t as skilled as many other teams with better resources. So, everyone’s bravery has taught us what we must fight against, both on and off the field. Even off the field, our "Dream Bus" isn’t like ordinary vehicles. Some days it won’t start; other days the brakes fail. It’s been tough, but we manage to reach Suphachalasai Stadium every day.”Tags: [Coach Sakol, Monthongwittaya, low-budget team, bravery, Suphachalasai Stadium, Dream Bus]
“Some days we arrive just before game time, so we have to run from the bus and get dressed inside it, then head straight to play because our bus isn’t suitable. After the competition, we finished as runners-up but couldn’t beat the Chai Nat Provincial Administrative Organization team. That day, we made history by filling Suphachalasai Stadium to capacity again. People couldn’t get inside even though we allowed them to stand on the running track and inside the stadium, leaving only the pitch for the match. Anyone who was there would have witnessed this.”Tags: [Suphachalasai Stadium, football match, runners-up, Chai Nat, historical attendance]
“After the competition, we heard from many provinces asking us to travel to inspire children. We set a goal to visit all 77 provinces and have reached about 50 so far. The most daunting places were the three southern border provinces, which actually turned out to be not frightening at all. We recently returned from there. While traveling, we heard continuous explosions at gas stations and witnessed events firsthand. We realized that people in those three provinces warmly welcomed us and want us to return.”Tags: [inspiration tour, 77 provinces, southern border provinces, explosions, community support]
“I believe this will inspire coaches and children to stop focusing on social media and turn their attention to sports. Thai football reaching the World Cup isn’t impossible. Currently, a film is being made to portray the real-life struggles leading to this point. The movie, titled ‘The Coach: The Dream Bus,’ is now filming and is expected to be released in May before the school term starts. Children will then understand that playing football isn’t as easy as it seems. As I said, luck favors the brave. Thank you very much.”Tags: [inspiration, football, Thai football, film production, The Coach: The Dream Bus]