Thailand's Polo Scene Is Booming: Inside the Sport's Southeast Asian Expansion
King Power's patronage, new clubs in Vietnam and Indonesia, and FIP Asia development grants are fuelling an extraordinary polo expansion across Southeast Asia. Thailand is at its centre.
Southeast Asian polo is experiencing its most significant period of growth since the sport first arrived in the region during the colonial era, and Thailand is at the epicentre of an expansion that is reshaping polo's global geography in real time.
The numbers tell the story clearly: Thailand now has six active polo venues across Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Pattaya. The Bangkok circuit alone has tripled in size over the past decade, driven by King Power's patronage — the conglomerate founded by the late Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, which has invested heavily in polo as part of a broader equestrian programme — and by the enthusiasm of Thailand's business elite who have embraced polo as the sport of aspiration for the country's new wealthy class.
The Bangkok polo season, running from October through March, now attracts international professionals from Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe on a regular basis. The standard of Thai domestic players has risen accordingly, with multiple Thai players achieving positive handicap ratings and competing at a level that would have been unimaginable a decade ago.
Beyond Thailand's borders, the expansion is accelerating. Vietnam's first polo club opened in Ho Chi Minh City in 2025, drawing from the city's growing expatriate community and increasingly affluent domestic business class. Indonesia's Jakarta Polo Club has been developing rapidly, and the Philippines circuit — long the most established in Southeast Asia outside Thailand — has seen increased investment and participation.
FIP Asia's development grant programme has been instrumental in supporting the infrastructure investment needed to establish new clubs across the region, and the organisation has prioritised Southeast Asia as a growth market, allocating technical support and coaching resources to countries at the early stages of polo development.
The regional Asian polo circuit is now one of the fastest-growing polo markets in the world, and industry observers expect Southeast Asian polo participation to double by 2030.