Pickup football in Phuket: KickHub is launching

Who it is for

Tourists who packed their boots, expats and digital nomads who want a regular game, and locals who would rather not organise one. You come alone; teams are mixed and balanced on the day.

Where we aim to play

Phuket Town, Patong, Chalong and Rawai, Kata and Karon, and Bang Tao and Cherngtalay. We will open in one area first and grow from there. Venues and times appear on this page once games are scheduled.

How a KickHub game works

• 7-a-side, with teams made and balanced on arrival.
• Every game includes a match ball, bibs and water.
• An organiser at every game, who makes the teams and runs the game.
• You pay in the app when you book. Nothing to settle at the pitch.

Football pitches in Phuket, by area

Phuket is bigger than it looks on a map. Rawai to Thalang can take an hour in traffic. Pick a pitch you can get to after work, not the one with the best reviews.

Central: Kathu, Rassada and Phuket Town

Football Island is where most of the island's pickup football has historically happened, so start here. It sits on Vichitsongkram Road near Central Festival, roughly in the middle of Phuket, which makes it reachable from almost anywhere. FIFA-approved synthetic grass, floodlit, and roofed. That roof is the reason it wins: games run through midday sun and through a downpour. Around 1,200 baht an hour, with toilets, balls and bibs included, evenings from six on weekdays and from early morning at weekends.

HeadStart International School, on the same road in Wichit, opens its City Campus pitch to outside bookings. Covered, floodlit, seven-a-side. It is the quietest of the central options and the easiest to get a weekday evening slot on, which is why KickHub has played there.

7 Soccer Club Phuket, off Chao Fa Road in Talat Nuea, has three medium artificial pitches, each sized for seven a side, and proper floodlights. It is open around the clock, which on this island is rarer than it sounds. The obvious pick if you live on the east side and have no interest in crossing the island at 6pm.

TX Park Soccer Stadium, in Rassada near Phuket Rajabhat University, has two indoor pitches and two open-air ones on artificial turf, plus locker rooms, stands and a restaurant. The indoor pitches make it one of the very few places on the island where weather is simply not a factor. It runs late, and the busy hours are four in the afternoon to eleven at night.

Grand Arena Phuket is the other name that comes up constantly. Five pitches covering both seven-a-side and five-a-side, which makes it the biggest complex on the island and the one most likely to have a slot free on short notice.

Silan Football Lista, in Kathu, is artificial turf with serious floodlighting, set up for evening football and run tightly enough that a booking means a booking.

88 Arena, also in Kathu, is the newest pitch on this list. Artificial turf, open until one in the morning, and still building a reputation. Worth a look if the central pitches are booked out.

PSU Phuket Sports Complex, also in Kathu, sits on the Prince of Songkla University campus. Multi-sport, easy parking, usually cheaper than the commercial venues.

South: Chalong and Rawai

KB Football Club, around Rawai and Chalong, has artificial turf, real locker rooms and somewhere to sit afterwards. That last part sounds trivial until you have played ninety minutes at thirty-two degrees.

Phuket Dolphins Football Club, in Chalong, runs two open fields. It is a kids academy first, so adult casual play is limited. Relevant if you have children on the island, less so otherwise.

West: Patong

Patong Football Club has artificial turf and a bodyweight training area, and hosts the Phuket Football 5s every November. It is open around the clock. If you are based on the west coast, this is your pitch.

North: Thalang, Si Sunthon and Thep Krasatti

SRISOONTHORN Pro-Soccer, in Si Sunthon, runs two seven-a-side astro pitches under bright floodlights. The drainage is good enough that the surface stays playable after heavy rain, which between May and October is not a small thing.

Phanthip Football Pitch, in Thep Krasatti, has two artificial-turf fields and covers the north of the island, including anyone living near the airport or Bang Tao.

Thanyapura Sports and Health Resort, in Thalang, is the island's most serious sports facility and hosts the Phuket Soccer 7s. Full-size artificial pitch, professional setup, and priced like it.

ACG Phuket, the Alan Cooke Ground, also in Thalang, is the exception to everything above: it is real grass. It is a purpose-built community sports ground that opened in 2011, shared between football, rugby and cricket, with a clubhouse, a bar and a restaurant, and one of the island's genuine sporting social hubs.

What it costs to play football in Phuket

Pitches here are rented by the hour, not per player. A group books the slot and splits the bill, so what you pay depends entirely on how many people show up.

Football Island publishes its rate, around 1,200 baht an hour with balls and bibs included, and that is a fair benchmark for a covered floodlit pitch on this island. Most other venues quote on request. Evening slots under floodlights cost more than a midday booking nobody wants because of the heat.

Confirm the price with the venue before you commit, and if you join someone else's game, ask what the split is before you drive over. On KickHub, the price of your spot is shown in the app before you book.

Heat, rain, and when to actually play

Rainy season runs roughly May to October, heaviest in September and October. It almost never rains all day: you get a hard burst, often late afternoon, then clear sky. Rainy season football goes into it properly.

This bothers newcomers far more than it bothers the pitches. Artificial turf drains fast, so a surface that took a downpour an hour ago is usually fine. Football Island is roofed, the HeadStart pitch is covered, TX Park has two indoor pitches and SRISOONTHORN drains well. Football on this island does not stop for the monsoon; it moves under a roof.

Heat is the real problem. Midday football in March and April is punishing, which is why the island plays in the evening. Bring more water than feels reasonable, arrive early enough to sit in the heat for ten minutes first, and give yourself three or four sessions to adjust. If you are new to the climate, read playing in the heat before your first game.

Venues we've played at in Phuket

• HeadStart International School
• TX Park Soccer Stadium

Frequently asked questions

KickHub in Bangkok and Bali

Games run every day in both cities: pickup football in Bangkok and pickup football in Bali.