Three of the players — Mongkol “Mark” Boonpium, 13, Adul Samon, 14, and Pornchai “Tee” Khamluang, 16 — and 25-year-old assistant coach Ekapol “Ake” Chanthawong are stateless, their lack of citizenship not only restricting their upward mobility, but even their right to travel outside of Chiang Rai, the northern province where they live.
It is no anomaly that four of the 13 trapped in the cave are not Thai citizens, the Wild Boars’ head coach, Nopparat Kanthawong, said in an interview. Of the 70-80 boys in the team’s four age brackets, around 20 are stateless.
The cave ordeal should help put a spotlight on the issue of statelessness in Thailand. Nopparat hopes it will advance his players’ sporting ambitions.