As slowly and surely Indian football takes small progressive steps, IndianFootball.Com remains committed to keeping its readers informed on how football is run in other parts of the planet. As football fans, it is our, our right and duty to question what and how our football administrators do and expect more innovative thinking, greater professionalism and a much more sincere commitment towards the cause of football in India.

Keeping this in mind, IndianFootball.Com's Northern America correspondent Harmit Singh Kamboe was able to interview Kasiti 'Tom' Kamalanavin, Director, Chula FC, Thailand and get a small peek into how football is run and managed in Thailand. Enjoy!

Harmit: Please tell us what the most popular sports (traditional and modern) in Thailand are and where does football stand in relation to them?

Tom: Thai people are interested in many kind of sports, such as tennis, golf and boxing but football is considered to be the most favourite one.

Harmit: Which overseas leagues and clubs do the Thais follow a lot, do they especially follow Manchester City as it is owned by ex-Thai Prime Minster Thaksin Shinawatra?

Tom: We mostly follow English Premier League especially Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenol club. However, Manchester City is closely followed only by the ex-Prime Minster’ supporters.

Harmit: There are three Thai players in the reserve side of Manchester City. Does this have any positive effect on the Thai national team?

Tom: Undoubtedly, this could be a good chance for them to gain experiences and help the Thai national team improve its quality.

Harmit: How many leagues are there in Thailand? Which is the top most league and how many teams play in it?

Tom: We’ve got Thailand Premier League, with 16 teams, as the highest league and there’re Division 1, Division 2 and provincial league as well.

Harmit: How long is the season of the Premier League in Thailand and how many times does each team play each other?

Tom: The season normally begins in February and finishes in October and that each team has to meet each other twice.

Harmit: How often does the Thai national team play in a year? Are there any regular annual tournaments that it takes part in?

Tom: The Thai national team plays 2-3 times a year but more games will take place when there’s a special tournament, like Sea Games, Asean Games, World Cup Qualification tournament, etc.

Harmit: How do the clubs deal with the players being released for the national team?

Tom: We follow the International system, like in European countries.

Harmit: Who runs, manages and markets the Thai League?

Tom: Football Association of Thailand is the one who’s responsible for the Thai League.

Harmit: What are the things that Football Association of Thailand does as the official representative of football for the national football team?

Tom: Organizing domestic football matches, take the team to the international matches around the world and also take care of the sponsorship.

Harmit: Is the prize money in the Thai Premier League deliberately set towards a winner takes all kind of approach? As far as we can tell the winner gets 10,000,000 Baht (approx USD 316,000) and the runner up gets 2,000,000 Baht (USD 63,000)?

Tom: The prize money is handed over to the club that win Thailand Premier League, then it’s the club itself who makes the decision towards the money. This prize money helps clubs improve their performance to be the winner.

Harmit: Does each team get a fixed sum to play in the Thai Premier League from the TV rights of the league?

Tom: Actually, we get very small amount from both the sponsor and the TV rights.

Harmit: What is the average salary that a footballer can make in Thailand?

Tom: About 30,000 Baht per month (approx USD 1,000).

Harmit: Has there ever been any player in Thailand that has played in a big European league or team yet? Has Thailand ever played at the World Cup yet?

Tom: We wish to see it possible one day.

Harmit: Are there many overseas players that play in Thailand? Usually what country do the overseas players come from?

Tom: Various overseas players can be found in Thailand especially the players from Africa, such as Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.

Harmit: Are most of the clubs in the Premiere club based on a city/region specific following or are they institutional teams?

Tom: Most of the clubs are institutional teams, only 3-4 clubs are provincial teams, such as, Chonburi FC from Chonburi province and Nakornpathom from Nakhonpathom province.

Harmit: Thank you for talking to us at IndianFootball.Com!