Busaba FC

Like many amateur clubs around Thailand, Busaba appeared and then disappeared off the radar. Since the club was founded in 2014, they have continued to play random friendly matches.

Busaba joined forces with another local club, Amr Nameng, to strengthen their youth set-up in March 2021. They occasionally participate in one-day amateur tournaments.

My visit

At Grand Keeper Football Stadium

Busaba FC 4 SPA Srongpol 6
Friendly - Thursday 16th December 2021
👨‍👨‍👧‍👧 c10 🎟️ Free

My luck was definitely in regarding fixtures following my move to Bangkok a couple of weeks earlier. Through research and joining several Facebook pages, I was alerted to a third match I could attend in a week. There was no professional football being played due to the international break.

The previous Thursday, I’d had a lovely time and received a warm welcome from coach Chai and his SPA Srongpol team when I attended their game against Nonthaburi City. They were to play at the same venue, and I was keen to return.

This time, I left my home at Min Residence a little earlier. I needed cheering up after a disastrous day for England in the Test match against Australia. The 197 bus arriving was a good start, with the old vehicle, complete with a wooden floor, dropping me at Big C near the ground.

Unfortunately, it didn’t have a food court, so after a bit of shopping, I grabbed a snack at 7/11 before wandering across to be greeted by some friendly, familiar faces as I settled into a seat under one of the covers.

Players from Khlong Samwa FC were training before kick-off. It meant that the game got underway at 8.10pm. The pitch seemed in better condition than I had noticed a week earlier, or perhaps the poor surface at FC Bangsaotong two days earlier had created that impression.

I remembered my mosquito repellent. What a difference that made! Chai had around 22 players, all wanting to play. Busaba’s squad probably numbered 15. In the early stages, SPAs numbers 4, 8 and 62 all played confident football once again, though Mark, wearing number 8, came close to scoring an accidental own goal, with the post saving him.

The ’away’ Srongpol team went 1-0 up when number 4 put away a corner. A beautiful slide rule pass and a neat finish by number 39 doubled the lead after twenty-six minutes. The same player missed an open goal seconds later after dispossessing the Busaba goalkeeper.

However, a far post header after half an hour extended the lead to 3-0. At this point, the referee blew his whistle to halt play. The sides came to the touchline. I asked a SPA player if it was a shortened match. He explained that it was four quarters of thirty minutes to give everyone a decent game.

That made sense. Chai changed ten of his players as the next set got their opportunity. A good finish by number 69 dragged Busaba back into the contest. The team, wearing a smart black and amber kit, began to beat the offside trap when going forward.

Chances were being missed at either end, with the standard not as high as in the first quarter. Number 8 for SPA Srongpol made it 4-1 before another interval when the original starters resumed for the boys in blue.

I was surprised that the teams hadn’t changed ends, but it didn’t really matter. The conditions weren't advantageous when attacking either goal. People were enjoying playing football. That should be all that matters.

Busaba got another back and then scored once again to make it 3-4 when number 13 beat the offside line to square for number 9 to score. The clever interplay, along with Srongpol’s high line, kept the linesman on the far side on his guard.

However, a series of defensive errors allowed Srongpol's number 6 to score, making it 3-5. The pace dropped in the final quarter. Credit must go to the three officials who were still going strong after two hours. I liked the tactic of the nearside linesman who flapped his flag so the ref could hear him when he signalled.

The lead was narrowed when a deflected shot from Busaba’s impressive number 69 looped past the keeper. Any chance of a draw disappeared with a fine solo goal from SPA’s number 10 in the final action of the game.

It had been a first for me. I had only seen games of two hours before when cup ties had gone to extra time after finishing level on ninety minutes. And I hadn’t seen teams kick the same way throughout.

But it didn’t matter. I enjoyed myself again. The welcome was warm, and I loved the way the players acknowledged each other at full time. I headed off to grab a taxi home in time to enjoy a Zoom chat with my brother and family back in the cold of the UK.

Would there be any more midweek games between Christmas and New Year? If there was, I’d be making an effort to attend. I knew that I was guaranteed another first: a Christmas Day match.