Formed in 1976 as Bangtoey Football Team, they were originally based at Chululalongkorn University in Bangkok, who have played in the Chula-Thammasat Traditional football match since 1934 (a bit like the Varsity match in the UK)
In 2004, Chulalongkorn University FC was combined with Sinthana FC (Chula-Sinthana FC) to play in Division 2 in 2005 until Chula-Sinthana FC was promoted from Division 1 to the Thai Premier League in 2008. On August in 2008 season, They changed their club name again from "Chula-Sinthana FC" to "Chula United"
Relegation followed in 2009 and the club changed their name to their current title in January 2011 as the club moved out to share with Army United as the TPL, where BB-CU aimed to be, required all clubs to be a PLC and this did not fit in with the university. Instead, they formed their own club, Chamchuri United.
Click here for details.
The change of name obviously brought them luck as BB-CU were promoted at the end of the season. Once back in the TPL, they were forced to move home grounds once again to play at the national Rajamangala National Stadium as TPL sides were not allowed to share with other member clubs of that division.
However, BBCU were relegated at the end of the 2013 season, as they played home games in front of sparse crowds at Rajamangala. Their demotion allowed them to move back to Army Stadium for the 2013 season.
BB-CU moved a couple of miles northwest for the 2014 season to play out at the King Rama 9 Commemoration Sports Stadium in Nonthaburi. They finished the 2014 season in ninth position, before finishing as runners-up in 2015 to win promotion to the top flight.
Their spell lasted just one season as the club finished bottom of the table in the slightly truncated 2016 season. BB-CU were relegated to the newly rebranded second-tier Thai League 2 (T2) for the 2017 season.
My visits
Wednesday 1st April 2015
It was a steaming hot day in Bangkok with my loyal pal Steve Walker putting up with my hobby and being driven miles just to look at a second-tier football stadium. It’s moments like that when you know who your friends are!
The taxi after seeing the new base for Police United took us what seemed a long way round before taking a U-turn and heading in the right direction. As it turned out our driver was spot on.
The Rama 9 Sports Stadium was a decent enough venue as it turned out and not dissimilar to our previous venue. There were other sports facilities outside but the main arena had a fine raised Main Stand down one side with a smaller enclosure and temporary roof opposite. A running track surrounded the pitch with no facilities for spectators around the curves.
We had considered catching a bus into the city centre where I needed to be for a cricket meeting at 5.30, but it was difficult finding the destinations of the local service. Instead, we hailed a cab to the underground. The driver decided he’d treat Steve to his skills in learning Arabic, which I’m not sure was totally appreciated.
The first cold beer definitely was!
BBCU 2 Suphanburi 3 (Sunday 24th April 2016) Thai Premier League (att: 1,726)
It was the final day of a magnificent holiday once again in the Land of Smiles and I was looking to round off the trip in fine style.
After a long Saturday night out I met Steve Walker in Minburi from where we took a taxi and the subway down to Asoke, before enjoying lunch in the Queen Victoria pub. We needed plenty of energy onboard for our first expedition of the day.
I had always wanted to go to the horse racing at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club. The fixtures worked out perfectly for us to go to a few races and then head north to Nonthaburi for the evening football. Within forty minutes we were in the stands at the RBSC in the extreme heat with several thousand other locals.
The afternoon went well and we hung around for the big race; the Chakri Cup. Our plan was to each put 100 Baht (£2) on a horse on each race and then share any returns. It had gone superbly well, with three out of eight horses winning. The proceeds didn’t add up to too much, but we were happy enough.
The Cup had a late start because of the pre-race ceremony and then a horse refusing to enter the stalls. Eventually, the race was run and we had another winning slip. After a wait to make sure that all horses had weighed in, Steve got paid out and we headed to Siam Skytrain station.
My idea was to head to Mo Chit station and then take a taxi to the stadium. Then for some reason, I got it into my head that alighting at Victory Monument was a better idea. The stadium was closer than I thought.
Despite us having a piece of paper with the address written in Thai, several taxi drivers either didn’t know or considered it too far to travel. After four or five attempts we found a willing driver. Sure enough, we drove past Mo Chit station!
It was quite a distance as it turned out. Eventually, we saw the towering floodlights and tunred left into Samakkhi Road before we went down a small soi directly behind one end, where we alighted, with the game already kicked off.
It was quite a distance as it turned out. Eventually, we saw the towering floodlights and tunred left into Samakkhi Road before we went down a small soi directly behind one end, where we alighted, with the game already kicked off.
Perhaps the confusion was from the fact the stadium had two different names? Some had it as the Ratchakumari Youth Center Stadium and some King Rama 9 Sports Stadium. Anyway, Steve went for tickets, which were expensive by Thai standards at 150 Baht (£3) while I got us a coke each. There were no programmes on sale.
We went upstairs into the stand into familiar surroundings as we’d visited the stadium to take photos just over a year earlier. A decent crowd had turned up. The rest of the stadium had been added to on the far side by the addition of temporary open seating on either side of the permanent stand. The seats to the right accommodated the away fans.
Amazingly enough, the score was already 1-1! I went to plenty of Thai games where goals were at a premium, but as soon as I turned up a few minutes late I missed two. I later discovered that Carmelo had put Suphanburi ahead before Geun-jeong Woo equalised on seven minutes.
The weather was still very warm as we found seats in the stand amongst passionate home support. As ever the demographics of the fans were on the younger side with a mix of male and female. One young lady along with her fella wasn’t short on offering her feedback, much to the amusement of many others.
The visitors were backed by a decent following of around 600 fans, and they were rewarded when Carmelo put them back ahead. The goal was the fault of home keeper Teerapong Putthasuka who flapped at a cross, feigned injury and then got up as the ball returned and was tapped in before he fell over again in apparent agony. Fortunately, the referee Anuwat Feemuechang was not to be fooled and he awarded the goal.
BBCU tried to get back into the game up until the interval as play saw action in both halves, but it was the visitors who went in 2-1 ahead. I decided to try and seek out a programme to no avail, and have a look at the meagre souvenir stall at half time. Nothing really caught my eye.
Big Bang’s Japanese coach Kôichi Sugiyama looked to have had words with his charges during the break, in what turned out to be one of his final games in charge of the club. They came out with far more attacking intent.
Nigerian winger Julius Oiboh began to look dangerous and it was through his fine work that the team in pink drew level as Korean forward Geun-jeong Woo netted his second of the night. His team continued to push forward to try and take the lead.
It wasn’t to be as the Suphanburi forwards broke forward with a clever pass from Carmelo beating the offside trap for the Brazilian substitute Dellatorre to score with the shot rolling in off the post with fifteen minutes remaining.
That would prove to be the winning goal. Steve and I wandered to the main drag and got a taxi within five minutes to take us back to our favourite bar in Minburi; Sudtone Club. We enjoyed a massive feast of chicken in rice, pork pieces and amazing pork dumplings washed down with three half litre bottles of Leo beer for the princely sum of 650 Baht (£13) while listening to a couple of local entertainers and watching Sunderland v Arsenal on TV.
It had been the perfect day I was looking for to end my holiday, with a great experience at the races, a good game of football and great company.
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