Kids living on a floating village turn football dreams into reality

October 31, 2012

Koh Panyee, a small island in South Thailand, does not have an inch of soil. The entire island is built on top of water. Finding space for activities is just not a possibility.

A group of football loving children dreamed to play their favorite sport. They were tired of only being able to watch it on television. They had to do something.

All working together spending countless hours after school, they built a wooden playing surface using piles of scrap wood that floated in the middle of the ocean. The surface was hard and uneven. There was not a speck of soft grass or dirt, but there was finally something.

They played every day, constantly falling into the water, stepping on nails sticking out of the wood. None of that mattered, they were finally playing football.

Their passion and ingenuity, combined with the technical skills they developed through practice on such a small, rough field, were the start of history.

This is an inspirational story on how dreams became a reality. It is the true story of how the Panyee Football Club was born in 1986.  The club is now regarded as one of Southern Thailand's best football teams.

The original team, now as adults.