BANGKOK – Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night, something shifts across Thailand. Beer Chang fridges open early, Grab drivers talk tactics with passengers, and living rooms glow far past bedtime. The reason is simple. When the china football Super League starts, the weekend truly begins for millions of Thai football fans.
Yes, that is right. Not the Premier League. Not the J.League. On some weekends, not even our own Thai League 1. The competition that excites Thai supporters most right now is played 2,500 kilometres to the north, in Chinese stadiums most of us have never visited.
For anyone new to it, the China Super League is the top division of professional football in China. Sixteen clubs fight from March to December for the Fire God Cup, which is the actual name of the trophy. Since a major relaunch in 2011 and the wild spending between 2015 and 2019, the CSL has cooled down on transfer fees, but the football has become even more watchable.
The current heavyweights include Shanghai Port, the defending champions who play slick passing football that would make Pep Guardiola smile, along with Shandong Taishan, Beijing Guoan, and the ever-loud Shanghai Shenhua.
Then there is Chengdu Rongcheng, a club promoted only in 2022, already filling a 60,000-seat stadium and building Thai fanbases in places like Khon Kaen and Ubon Ratchathani.
Why Thai Fans Are Hooked Harder Than Friday Night Somtam
Reason 1: Kick-off Time Fits Thai Life Perfectly
When matches start in China at 19:35 Beijing time, it is just 18:35 in Thailand. We can finish work, beat the traffic, grab grilled pork from a street stall, and still sit down for kick-off with a cold Leo. With the Premier League, you often stay up until 3 a.m. or settle for replays. That schedule loses every time.
Reason 2: Thai Players Are Real Stars, Not Bench Fillers
There was a time when Thai players were lucky to sit on the bench in Japan or Belgium. Now look at what is happening.
- Chanathip Songkrasin became a legend at Shanghai Port, lifting the league title in 2024 before returning home.
- Supachok Sarachat is shining for Shenzhen Peng City.
- Theerathon Bunmathan captains Chengdu Rongcheng, swinging in set pieces that make grandmothers in Isan shout at their televisions.
When “Messi J” bends one into the top corner in Chengdu colours, kids in Surin walk taller the next day.
Reason 3: Chaos, Skill, and Goals Everywhere
The CSL is where you might see Oscar (yes, that Oscar) ghost past three defenders one week, then a 19-year-old Chinese winger who grew up watching Neymar clips on TikTok do the same in the next round. Squads can now register only five foreign players, but almost every club still has at least one Brazilian magician who earns less than Erling Haaland spends on haircuts.
Matches are fast, technical, and open. Last month, Shanghai Port beat Beijing Guoan 5-4 in a crazy shoot-out that felt more like a Muay Thai brawl than a football match. My editor is still in shock.
Reason 4: The Crowd Energy Is Unreal
Chinese supporters treat football like a full concert. Tianjin Jinmen Tiger fans hit the Viking Thunder Clap better than Iceland did at Euro 2016. At Wuhan Three Towns, one stand refuses to sit down for the whole 90 minutes. When 50,000 Beijing Guoan fans in green scarves bounce together and sing “Forever Guoan”, even tired Thai viewers sitting at home feel goosebumps on their arms.
Midnight Debates in Facebook Groups You Never Knew Existed
Type “CSL Thailand” into Facebook, and a long list of groups appears, each with thousands or even tens of thousands of members. You find names like “Chengdu Rongcheng Thailand Fanclub”, “Oscar Thailand Family”, and the brilliant “We Love Wu Lei More Than Pad Thai”.
Fans share live streams at 2 a.m., argue about whether Felipe Silva is better than Cryzan, and set up watch parties in karaoke bars for big Chengdu games. One group in Hat Yai even rented a van to Chiang Rai just so they could watch Theerathon’s team on a giant screen together.
The Numbers Back Up the Obsession
A 2025 survey by Nielsen Sports Thailand found that 41% of Thai football fans aged 18 to 35 now follow the Chinese Super League on a regular basis. That is more than Serie A and only a little behind the Premier League. Streaming service iQIYI, which owns CSL rights in Thailand, reported a 68% jump in Thai viewers from 2023 to 2025. On the night Shanghai Port sealed the title last week, iQIYI crashed twice because so many Thai fans tried to watch.
From Teerasil to Theerathon, the Thai Connection Keeps Growing
Thai players do not head to China only for bigger wages anymore. They go because they start often, play full matches, and return home at a higher level. Chanathip came back from China sharper than ever, then led BG Pathum United to the 2024/25 Thai League crown.
At 35, Theerathon still looks like Asia’s best left back, tested each week by Brazilian forwards who treat defending as a suggestion.
Clubs like Buriram United and Bangkok United now send their brightest under-23 players to CSL2 (China League One) on loan to harden them up. For Southeast Asian talent, it has become the new Belgian Pro League.
For next season, rumours say Chengdu Rongcheng want Chananan Pombuppha to follow Theerathon and take his place one day. Shanghai Shenhua is tracking Suphanat Mueanta. Across Thailand, kids wearing Wu Lei’s number 18 shirt, the captain of China and star of Shanghai Shenhua, show that this football bond runs both ways.
