Sports

Increasing popularity in Thailand: Leicester taking over more than just the EPL

Foxes’ rise one of the biggest David vs Goliath sporting narratives

Afp March 04, 2016

this file picture taken on august 18 2010 shows chairman and ceo of thailand 039 s king power duty free retailers group vichai raksriaksorn l and his son and assistant aiyawatt raksiaksorn r holding jerseys of england 039 s leicester city football club during a takeover announcement in bangkok photo afp

This file picture taken on August 18, 2010 shows chairman and CEO of Thailand's King Power duty free retailers group, Vichai Raksriaksorn (L), and his son and assistant Aiyawatt Raksiaksorn (R) holding jerseys of England's Leicester City football club during a takeover announcement in Bangkok. PHOTO: AFP

BANGKOK: Leicester City’s rise from relegation scrappers to Premier League table-toppers has won them admirers across the sporting world, including in Thailand – home of their billionaire owner – where the Foxes are creeping into fashion.

The club, currently three points clear at the top of the world’s most watched football league, are owned by Thai duty-free magnate Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, whose King Power brand is emblazoned on the club shirt.

Their rise is one of the biggest David vs Goliath sporting narratives in recent memory – and a success story for Thailand, where they are dubbed the Siamese Foxes.

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The Thai Leicester City fans’ Facebook page boasts 445,000 likes, a new-found popularity that is translating into increased shirt sales.

But Leicester’s players are still not household names in the football-mad Southeast Asian kingdom and on match days the club’s deep blue colours are largely absent from Bangkok’s bars.

Observers say that is in part down to publicity-shy Vichai, who has averred the usual fanfare of a PR campaign associated with foreign ownership of Premier League clubs.

But it is also because traditional footballing giants such as Liverpool and Manchester United still draw the loyalty of most Thai fans.

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Waiting to play during a casual game in central Bangkok on a recent afternoon, Kittideht Jirawattanakan said he was astonished by the Foxes’ rise.

But when quizzed on the team, he admitted to being a little unprepared. “I don’t really know much about them,” he said. “[I know]) the team has Thai owners — they play aggressively and they’re on fire at the moment.”

The club was bought by retail mogul Vichai in 2010. After a few false starts, the team gained promotion to the Premier League, piquing interest among Thais in a previously unfashionable outfit.

Vichai’s boardroom has won praise for its unflustered approach to running the club and shrewd appointments of players and managers.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2016.

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