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| Chiang Mai 700th Anniversary Stadium |
Promotion was reached at the end of that season. Unfortunately, their spell in the second tier lasted just one season as they were relegated. Chiangmai had a fine 2012 campaign as they finished top of the table, but they could not continue their form as the play-offs ended in disappointment as they couldn't win promotion.
However, it was a case of second time lucky in 2013 as once again The Lanna Tigers finished top of the pile, only this time they also topped their playoff group to win promotion to Thai Division One League.
The team continued along in the second tier, with a brush with relegation coming in the 2015 campaign, which was followed by a mid-table finish. The club was purchased by the Boon Rawd Brewery from former president Udonpan Jantaraviroj at the completion of the 2016 season.
The 2017 season was one of disappointment as the team finished in tenth position, with Hristijan Kirovski topping the scoring charts. The new owners were not slow to show their displeasure as three different head coaches were tried throughout the season.
Sugao Kambe had gone by March 2017, to be replaced by Apisit Im-ampai lasted just a month before fellow Thai Choketawee Promrut was appointed. Carlos Eduardo Parreira came in for the 2018 campaign.
Chiangmai finished in third position to win promotion to the top flight of Thai football as Brazilian forward Hiziel Souza Soares was leading scorer. He starred alongside fellow overseas signings Lenny and Cristian.
However, the team lasted only one season at that level with Eliandro top scoring, despite a dramatic final day win against Buriram which denied the Isan powerhouses the title. Surapong Kongthep had replaced Carlos Eduardo Parreira midway through the campaign.
The following season became 2020-21 owing to the Coronavirus pandemic with Tanongsak Prajakkata appointed as the new head coach. The club moved back to the Municipality Stadium while work was undertaken at the 700th Anniversary Stadium. Japanese striker Ryo Matsumura led the goal charts.
Meanwhile, local rivals and new kids on the block Chiangmai United went on to overtake CFC to be promoted to Thai League 1 with United moving into the 700th Anniversary Stadium, while Chiangmai remained in town.
The 2021-22 campaign saw the team slip down the table to finish fourteenth, with Pairoj Borwonwatanadilok in the position of head coach for part of the season. Seiya Sugishita led the goals tally before Jun Fukuda took over team affairs.
The club had been under the control of the BG Sports Company Ltd, the owners of BG Pathum United, for some time, with several loan players being sent north each season. However, in January 2023 BGPU chairman Pavin Bhirombhakdi confirmed that the arrangement would be ending at the end of the 2022-23 season.
To describe
the 2023-24 season as a disaster would be kind to Chiangmai FC. Despite reaching
the playoffs which ended in a semifinal defeat to Nakhonsi United, the club was
in utter turmoil off the pitch, despite BGPU assisting in any non-financial way
possible.
Yosmaetha
Jantaraviroj, the nephew of the former owner, had taken charge of the club and
oversaw a catastrophic campaign which led to sponsors being let down, as well
as businesses and players being left unpaid.
All started well as the team went unbeaten in their first seven games. In October head coach Fukuda was replaced by Albert Garcia Xicota, who in turn lasted until the new year when Nowat Wongaree took over who in turn was soon on his way as Patipat Rorbru became head coach.
The team continued to do its stuff on the pitch, despite players being unpaid. Crowds began to fall through disenchantment of the ownership, while Nattapon Krachangpho was put in charge of the team in March 2024. At the completion of the season, the Thai League acted against the club.
Fans were left in turmoil, and many were left without payment. The club failed to meet licensing regulations and was relegated to Thai League 3 on the proviso that they could meet certain guarantees.
Salvation of sorts came from local club Christ FC who appeared to take over the running of Chiangmai FC, with ownership still unclear, this after ‘Big Sand’ the gent who oversaw the issues while at the helm declared interest from a Brazilian consortium.
The club was given a license to play in T3 with Anan
Amornlertsak installed as head coach. To add to their woes Municipality Stadium
underwent a refurbishment so home games were switched to Rajamangala University
of Technology Lanna, some forty minutes out of town which therefore affected the
crowd numbers.
Chiangmai FC will be playing in the Thai League 3 North in the 2023-24 season.
Chiangmai FC 2 Uthai Thani Forest 0 (Sunday 1st April 2012) Thai Regional League North Region (att: approx 3,600)
I was in Thailand for a holiday, but most importantly to take part in the 25th Anniversary Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes Tournament with my pals from Yarrambat near Melbourne. It was the seventh consecutive time to Chaing Mai but I'd yet to get to a game.
The chances looked slim once more, even though the Thailand Tobacco Monopoly (TTM FC) had once again moved, this time to use Chiang Mai as their home city and sharing the 700th Anniversary Stadium in the hope of attracting fans of The Lanna Tigers since their relegation to third tier football.
Remarkably the fixtures had both teams down for away games, apart from the following Saturday, when I really hoped we'd have a more pressing engagement at the cricket's Finals Day.
I used my newly found Twitter account to ask if anybody knew of any midweek games, and then on the Saturday I arrived in the city I got potentially good news. Chiangmai had reversed their match with Uthai Thani as the visitor's stadium was not ready for the following day with a 6pm kick-off. I had to clear it with my captain.
Daniel Shaw was good about it. We had a match that afternoon against the Lord's Taverners at 3pm and I was in the team. I'd have to leave the Gymkhana ground after a couple of post-match tinnies, offer my apologies, and head off for a shower and get to the ground, on the understanding I'd get back for the team dinner in Loi Kroh Road at around 7.30pm.
It wasn't perfect and I'd have to leave with at least half an hour to go, but I was delighted with any chance at all. I certainly wasn't going to disrespect our team ethos where we all eat together and stick together through thick and thin.
I left the Pornping Tower Hotel and found a tuk-tuk driver. He told me it was a long way to the 700th Anniversary Stadium and the ride would cost me 300 baht (£6). It seemed a lot but I wasn't going to argue.
Obviously travelling alone made it more expensive. My driver was right. The stadium was a long way. It took at least twenty minutes to get there. I loved passing the motorbikes carrying fans of all ages with big smiles on their faces, especially when they saw a westerner going to the match.
My driver dropped me by the car and motorcycle park, which seemed to be very busy. I arranged for him to pick me up again at 7.10pm. I went off to have a look outside at the many food stalls outside what looked like a very impressive stadium, which was host to the 1998 Asian Games.
There were lots of vendors all looking for trade. I got a large cup of coke for 20 baht (40p) and bumped into some other English lads who I later found out ran a Twitter account and lived in the city.
I bought a home shirt which worked out to be excellent value at just £10. The size was perfect, which was rare in my previous experiences of buying replica shirts in Thailand. I paid 80 baht (£1.60) to the young lady at the ticket office window and had my wrist stamped in case I wanted to come back out for refreshments. My ticket allowed me to sit in any public seat in the large main stand.
The 700th Anniversary Stadium had a large stand which followed the curves of the running track and other facilities. The rest of the stadium was a continuous open bowl with higher parts as it joined with the Main Stand. There was an electric scoreboard at one end and a display board at the other.
Fans were spread out around the arena. The main group of ultras were opposite me, including one man flying a huge flag. Another pocket of vocal fans was located on the upper open terracing to my left. The stadium was worthy of more than Regional League football, which I suppose was why TTM was trying to tap into the city's support.
The teams came out and lined up as is the norm in modern football, with flag bearers at the front. There was an announcement which led to everyone standing up facing the Thai flag at the City End while the national anthem played as was usual everywhere in Thailand at 6pm. Then everyone turned the other way to the scoreboard where a message was displayed.
I think it must have been in honour of the deceased Princess whose three days of mourning were to start the following Sunday. I was praying it wasn't for any disaster I was unaware of. Everyone I had spoken to fears the ageing revered King Bhumibol passing away while in the country, as it was feared it could provoke civil war and a complete meltdown.
The game itself was very disappointing. The periods of reflection meant my spectating was already being cut. Not to help matters there were several delays which hardly helped, including players milking every foul challenge.
The stretcher bearers were very busy men. Forest had a couple of extremely animated African imports, especially the one who played up front. I would have sent him off within half an hour for his over-the-top histrionics. Sadly the referee was being hoodwinked by players of both sides.
Chiangmai went one up much to my surprise. I didn't think either side would score. They doubled their lead following some handbags over very little from the penalty spot. The visiting players were doing their utmost to make me dislike them with their antics.
As was usual from previous experiences the crowd had lots of men and women in the crowd. Most were under thirty-five. It was nice to see the players of the clubs' junior sides at the match in full kit. Everyone seemed to have a smile on their faces, which immediately put me in a happy mood.
At half-time, I had another look at the souvenir stand and bought another cold drink before walking around the outside of the stadium. I wasn't going to get the chance to see any more of the match because of the various delays so I thought it worthwhile filling in my time by taking a view from the other side of the stadium while among the Ultras.
Again, everyone seemed in a good mood. I reckoned that if I went again, I thought I would maybe go down that side. The cost was only 50 baht (£1) but the atmosphere was so much more lively and more conducive to making friends.
I walked round to my pickup point. My diligent driver spotted me. He'd been looking near the Main Stand for me. I must have been easy to pick out in the crowd, especially in my red Scarborough Athletic shirt. I gave him instructions to drop me by McDonalds at the night bazaar. My ride back gave me a proper impression of a city, that I'd only ever scratched the surface of.
Thai bars were vibrant, and people sat out enjoying their traditional Thai mookata barbeque. Scooters and bikes laden with happy locals rode alongside all with happy faces. It's amazing what happens if you make the effort to smile first. It's something I vowed to remember in England. I even smiled when we went through an extended more local night market.
I was dropped off exactly where I asked. I'd telephoned forward to let the team know I was on my way. I walked around the corner to the Hofbrauhaus, our traditional Sunday evening destination for a good meal and frivolity.
Chiang Mai is a great city. I really enjoyed my matchday experience there. I hoped to go again in the future to see a Chiangmai team in the TPL and not their impostor tenants. I didn't even miss a goal by leaving early!
To see a brief video I took at the game, click here.
Chiangmai FC 0 Army United 2 (Sunday 2nd April 2007) Thai League 2 (att: 3,543)
The opening day of the Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes had gone really well and I was now ready for some relaxation and a game of football. I'd been to the Red Lion to see landlord Kevin Hunt the day before to arrange some transport. All was good.
Plenty gave positive noises about wanting to go to the match, but when push came to shove only Paul 'Hagar' Jones and Terry Kersey turned up at the pub. I apologised to Kevin, who was great. He would drive us in his large car instead.
We were joined by a Swedish expat who also followed the team. Kevin really was a good supporter, telling us of his travels around Thailand with his wife to support the team. Some of the trips and locations sounded fantastic.
He found us a good spot to park up just across from the gates and ticket office. There was time to grab a beer and head inside after purchasing a ticket for 120 Baht; which was around £2.80 at the time.
We chose a decent seat not too far up, but with decent elevation. The centre section was empty. Kevin said there was some consternation among season ticket holders who naturally would have preferred to be in there.
The atmosphere was good all the way through. It was probably a bit too good for the home side, who were to put in an awful performance lacking in virtually every attribute, despite the club spending plenty of money on the squad to chase promotion.
It wasn't too much of a shock when the visitors went ahead on the half-hour mark through Attapong Nooprom, to the joy of the hundred or so Army supporters just along from us. Chiangmai huffed and puffed without looking remotely like scoring.
Chiangmai 2 Chainat Hornbill 1 (Saturday 26th November 2022) Thai League 2 (att: 836)
Finally, I got the opportunity to see a game at the Municipality Stadium, years after calling by to take photos there. I had read decent reports and my German friends Thorsten and Maren said that the atmosphere was excellent on their visit a few weeks previously.
I was in town for more cricket, and I was pushing it a bit sleep-wise as I had gone to bed early the previous evening and then got up to watch England v USA in the World Cup at 2am before resuming my slumber.
Fortunately, the evening function at the Gymkhana Club finished early enough for me to imbibe and then order a Bolt cab across town. I was shocked that there was no beer available at the stalls by the stadium, but a quick visit to 7/11 soon sorted me out.
I’d decided to buy a ticket opposite the covered stand, to be nearer the more raucous support. I had also read about the absurdity of the away section right at the back of the curve behind one of the goals, and it really was something to behold.
Quite rightly, the gaggle of visiting Chainat fans had decided to go into the main stand instead. The view was good in the raised stand I was in, and the whole place felt more homely with plenty of signage leaving nobody in any doubt as to who played there rather than the impressive big but soulless stadium in the outskirts.
As luck would have it, I got a decent game too in return for my 70 Baht ticket. Hornbill’s Thanayut Jittabud shot was well collected by the home stopper, Fahas Bilanglod, who like several of his teammates was on loan from parent club BG Pathum United.
It would be the visitors who took the lead four minutes before the break when defender Sarawut Koedsri couldn’t quite intercept a through ball from Chatuphum Kaewklang. Poomipat Kanthanet latched onto it and slotted home to the delight of coach Pannarai Pansiri and his bench.
At the interval, I went for a walk around the perimeter and managed to convince the stewards to allow me up the steps of the main stand to take photos of where I had been watching from. They were initially reluctant until a club ticket seller intervened.
When the game recommenced a long pass down the left wing released Thammayut Tonkham who then fired in an excellent low cross, which just evaded the efforts of substitute Tawan Khotrsupho who went sliding in.
A lofted ball from the home side found defender Kiratikor Ninlamat out of position with just over an hour on the clock. He hauled down the Korean striker Kim Bo-yong inside the box. Referee Vitsawa Nanchana had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and showing the offender the red card.
Bo-yong picked himself up and slotted past keeper Chaiyapat Honbanleng to level up the scores. By now the home fans increased the noise levels and really got behind their team, even more so eight minutes later.
A lovely ball by Ronnayod Mingmitwan put in Ryhan Stewart on the right, whose excellent low first-time cross was converted at the back post by Suchanon Malison. Shortly after Stewart cut inside and flashed a left-footed effort just over the bar.
By this point, the Chainat players were beginning to get on the wick of the home crowd with some of their fouls. The worst of which was a horrendous lunging challenge from skipper Apichok Srirawong on Tawan Khotrsupho in stoppage time.
He received a second yellow card and his marching orders, which it looked for all money that a straight red should have been the decision. It mattered not, as a few seconds later the refs whistle for full-time heralded three points for the hosts.
I’d enjoyed myself and decided to walk to find a tuk-tuk, getting slightly lost before finding my bearings by the moat road, where a driver thinking I was an unsuspecting tourist tried to charge me over the odds to the night bazaar, where I was soon back in the bars with my friends.
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