Leicester City to honour late chairman with statue

Leicester City to honour late chairman with statue

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Arsenal v Liverpool - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - November 3, 2018 General view of a banner displayed in the stadium depicting Leicester CIty's late Chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha REUTERS/David Klein

LONDON (Reuters) - Leicester City will honour their late chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha with a statue outside the Premier League club's King Power Stadium following his death in a helicopter crash last month.

The 60-year-old Thai billionaire died on Oct. 27 with four others when his helicopter crashed next to the stadium after a match.

His son and vice-chairman Aiyawatt confirmed the commissioning of a statue in a personal tribute in a souvenir programme to be given to all fans at Saturday's home Premier League game against Burnley.

"We will never be able to repay what he did for us -- for me as his son, us as his family, everyone connected to Leicester City and beyond -- but we are committed to honouring his memory and upholding his legacy," he wrote.

"Our continued growth as a Club, our state-of-the-art new training ground and our planned stadium expansion will help realise his vision for Leicester City.

"I plan to commission a statue of my father, for outside King Power Stadium, as a permanent and fitting tribute to the man that made it all possible. He will forever be in our hearts. He will never be forgotten."

In the eight years of Vichai's ownership, Leicester caused one of soccer's biggest shocks by winning the Premier League title in 2016.

The club plan to hand out commemorative scarves, pin badges, banners and souvenir programmes at Saturday's game, which has also been designated the club's annual Remembrance Fixture.

A tribute video will be shown on big screens before the match and a two-minute silence will be held to honour the armed services as well as the five victims of last month's accident.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-11-11