King Power To Set Up Leicester FC Academy In Thailand

[webfact]

SPORT MARKETING

King Power to set up Leicester FC academy in Thailand

By Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation

With the takeover of Leicester City Football Club, Vichai Raksriaksorn, chairman and chief executive of King Power Group, is set to turn Thailand into the Asian football-academy hub.

"We are now looking at potential locations, which may be one of my own land plots in Bangkok or near Suvarnabhumi Airport," he said.

"I also believe that by getting involved and owning a football club in England, I will be able to promote football youths in Thailand to play at the international level."

Milan Mandaric, who will stay on as chairman at Leicester City at least until the end of this year, said he shared Vichai's view that the club should expand its academy network in Thailand.

While Thailand had promising players, professional coaches were scarce. More were needed to provide the right training programmes.

"The establishment of the Leicester City club's academy in Thailand will provide local talents a chance to improve their skills to the world-class level and will also bring a reputation to Thailand," Mandaric said.

Many hundreds of millions of baht would be spent in setting up the Leicester City football academy in Thailand, he said.

Aiyawatt, a son of Vichai who recently became Leicester City's executive director, said he had long been passionate about football. After studying the extensive history of the Leicester City club, its impressive performance and the reputation of the Leicester City Academy, he was convinced that establishing the academy in Thailand would bring great benefit to local players.

"We expect to complete the establishment of the Leicester City academy in Thailand within 12 months. The club will also send its academy staff to provide training programmes to local players," he said.

Under the deal, Leicester City's football stadium will be renamed from Walkers Stadium to King Power Stadium by December.

At the press conference yesterday, Vichai promised more financial support for new buyers and the academy facilities. His challenge is to make Leicester City achieve Premiership status by next season.

The deal was wrapped up last week, sponsored by a personal-investment consortium called Asia Football Investments. The exact value of the 100-per-cent stake was not disclosed. Vichai said he would hold only 51 per cent, while the remaining 49 per cent would be opened for investors from Thailand and the region, such as Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and China.

"Football is my second-favourite sport after polo," said Vichai, 52. His duty-free group King Power about 10 years ago sponsored the Chelsea Football Club in the English Premier League for six straight years, he said.

The takeover of Leicester would fulfil his dream of owning a football club, though King Power Group has sponsored many teams in the Thai League, including Bangkok United FC and Police United. The group was a major sponsor of the Buriram PEA Football Club.

"The English Championship club Leicester City is a very interesting club. It has great potential to achieve Premiership status. The passion to reach the status will strengthen the club and enable it to move forward to the goal," he said.

"We're also impressed with the club's well-established academy. All of these are the reasons we do not feel hesitant in the least to enter this joint investment."

Seen in photo: Vichai Raksriaksorn, left, chairman and CEO of King Power Group, and his son Aiyawatt, right, executive director of the Leicester City Football Club, hold up jerseys while Milan Mandaric, chairman of the club, looks on at the briefing on the club's takeover held last week in England.

-- The Nation 2010-08-19

[mausplan]

"The establishment of the Leicester City club's academy in Thailand will provide local talents a chance to improve their skills to the world-class level and will also bring a reputation to Thailand," Mandaric said.

Mr Mandaric , King Power already has a reputation. They has already given a reputation to Thailand through the vicious scamming at their stores in the airport. While the scamming might have been the work of individuals , the company did not take visible action to stamp it out and recover the damage done to Thailands reputation.

[SomTumTiger]

Most people don't give a rat's a$$ about King Power one way or another. Suggest you need to work off some of that anger? Join a gym? lol

[Caliguy]

HUB!

[jonclark]

Should be a law banning foreigners from taking over ENGLISH clubs.

The Thais are all smiles when they go abroad and take over western businesses but become rabid xenophobes when foreigners try to do they same here. Shows how brainwashed many people have become here.

[LCFC]

Should be a law banning foreigners from taking over ENGLISH clubs.

The Thais are all smiles when they go abroad and take over western businesses but become rabid xenophobes when foreigners try to do they same here. Shows how brainwashed many people have become here.

Thats very disrespectful don't you think.

[jonclark]

Should be a law banning foreigners from taking over ENGLISH clubs.

The Thais are all smiles when they go abroad and take over western businesses but become rabid xenophobes when foreigners try to do they same here. Shows how brainwashed many people have become here.

Thats very disrespectful don't you think.

Disrespectful.......but true

[nevcross]

It would be nice to think that if there is to be a leicester academy here it will give opportunity for ordinary, poor kids to learn, train and play as per the community approach of English football; the wider the base of the pyramid the better the standard will be.How much football is played by , particularly Bangkok based kids given the dearth of open spaces for them to play in? Too often, too many kids are given the feeling that organised initiatives are 'not for them'. Lets hope Leicester's initiative will address some of these issues and make a much neeeded impact.......we will see....dOO

Should be a law banning foreigners from taking over ENGLISH clubs.

The Thais are all smiles when they go abroad and take over western businesses but become rabid xenophobes when foreigners try to do they same here. Shows how brainwashed many people have become here.

Thats very disrespectful don't you think.

Disrespectful.......but true

[Wozzit]

King Power has clearly upped prices at its Duty Free stores to help with this Leicester CIty venture. Yesterday at Suvarnabhumi a bottle of premium vodka (Belvedere, Grey Goose etc.) cost 1,750 Baht. That's almost US$55. It used to be 100 Baht less - and the Euro has been falling for some months now. So it's now US$10 more than Singapore and Hong Kong airport Duty Free Shops.

Edited August 20, 2010 by Wozzit