Did you know that football is a national obsession in Burma?

Football was introduced to Burma by a Scotsman, George Scott, in 1879. It quickly became very popular as it gave the Burmese the opportunity of thrashing their colonial masters, the British, at their own game. When Burma gained independence from the British, the Burmese went on to win many South East Asian football trophies. Since 1962 the country has been ruled by the military, and they have fallen behind in the sport. For twenty years, the military regime closed Burma and the people were not able to take part in international competitions.

Even now, the poverty and intimidation which the military regime inflicts on the people of Burma has reduced their ability to produce great football – but not their love of the Beautiful Game. In recent times, they have rejoined the international football scene and now play in the SE Asian Federation, as ‘Myanmar’. This is the new name for Burma, which was renamed by the military junta which took power in a coup in 1989, and which has an appalling record of human rights abuses. (The country is still referred to as Burma by people who oppose the brutal military regime.) The Burmese Football Federation was founded in1947 and affiliated to FIFA in 1957, five years before the military took over. It is now known as the Myanmar Football Federation and was affiliated to the Asian Football Federation in 1996. Soccer is a natural game for the Burmese to play well. Their ancient and traditional Buddhist sport of CHINLONE (or Chinlon) is played with a hard, rattan (cane) ball which must be kept in the air by the circle of six players, who may kick it or head it. Chinlone is non-competitive, but it requires enormous skill to manage the ball. The focus is not on winning or losing, but on how beautifully the game is played. They took naturally to ‘the Beautiful Game.’