Royal Thai Army

Thai Royal Army FC, often known as Army FC is a football club based in Bangkok, Thailand who were formed in 2011 as Army Welfare Development FC and played in the Khǒr Royal Cup, a competition for non-league clubs in Thailand.

Thai Army Stadium, Bangkok

The club was formed after Army United began to sign players from outside the army as the professional game in Thailand began to be established, with the team sharing the Thai Army Sports Stadium in the Din Daeng district of Bangkok.

The club won the Khǒr Royal Cup in 2014 and was promoted to the third-tier Regional League Division 2 in the Bangkok Area division. In their debut season, the club finished in sixth place.

The Main Entrance, Thai Army Stadium, Bangkok

A fourth-place finish in 2016 saw Army being placed in Thai League 3 (T3) Lower Region following league reconstruction, with Col. Somsakul Vijitraparb in charge of the team for the 2017 season as the team finished in fourth place thanks to the goals of Kraisorn Sriyan.

This was followed up as Army ended seventh in 2018 with Nattapong Kumnate and Noppadon Kasaen both weighing in with goals under head coach Lt. Adul Chumsaeng. The Thai League was reorganised ahead of the 2020-21 season as it reverted to the European calendar with Army being placed in T3 Bangkok.

BTU Stadium, Thonburi

Chaiwat Nakeiam was appointed as team boss, as the pandemic affected season saw his side finish in tenth position as the club played their home games at Nakhon Nayok Stadium. There would then follow three consecutive campaigns of consistency as Army finished ninth each time.

A shortage of goals became a regular feature. Surat Suriyachai with seven in 2022-23 was the standout under coach Chaiwat who marshalled his troops in a disciplined fashion to not concede goals either. The 2023-24 season saw the team move to Bangkok Thonburi University Stadium to play their home games.

The club was moved to Thai League 3 West for 2024-25 on account of their location and the restructuring of the third-tier.

Royal Thai Army FC will play in Thai League 3 West in the 2024-25 season.

My visit

Army FC 1 Buriram United 7 (Sunday 10th April 2016) Thai League Cup Round One (att: approx. 1,800)

The 29th Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes had been a huge success and I arrived back in Bangkok in good form, if a little weary. After checking into the Sukhumvit 23 Suites, it was time to meet up with my good pal Steve Walker for pre-match refreshments.

The waitresses at The Clubhouse were most helpful in writing down directions for the taxi in Thai, so after we’d had a beer and food it was time to head to the stadium. The girls had done well, as the driver recognised our destination immediately.

Around thirty minutes later we were dropped off by the away fans' driveway to the Thai Army Stadium, far earlier than we’d anticipated. It was immediately obvious that the visitors would have a healthy following, as many Buriram natives now lived in the capital.

We wandered around and bought a ticket, which was far cheaper than the advertised price. Perhaps this was because it was a cup match? I believe it was only 60 Baht each (around £1.15). This seemed to be excellent value for an all-top-flight clash?

It is here that I have to own up. As I researched this piece a few weeks after the match I discovered that we were watching Army FC of the Regional League third tier, and not Army United of the Premier League! This explained an awful lot as you read on.

We bought a large beer to share from a grizzled woman under the stand, who one could imagine had hammered more than one army cadet into shape. Steve did everything to try and make her smile, but she was a tough gig.

Our seats for the Army section gave us limited scope. The obligatory band was down at the front, with the drummer seemingly fancying himself as the next Cozy Powell, although he was definitely not the best.

The local in front of us had his iPad showing all the other live scores in the League Cup, so he was able to keep me up to date on my team Port’s progress up the road at Look Tapfah. He also had our match on, as it was being shown on live TV.

Buriram did indeed have an impressive following, with the central open section behind the goal very busy and the crowd continuing round and taking up their allocation of seating. It’s fair to say that several were quite aesthetic.

We anticipated a tight game, which it surely would have been if it hadn’t been the reserve side that was playing! No wonder we thought the home defence and goalkeeper would struggle to keep Army in the TPL! Within four minutes, the aforementioned hapless keeper had made a real mess up as Brazilian striker Weslley made it 1-0.

It was 2-0 when Korean Kim Seung-Yong finished. The referee was obviously feeling sorry for the home side when he turned down a stone wall penalty, which led to the injured striker being stretchered off. Our friend on the iPad confirmed that it was a bad tackle and a penalty.

Further goals from Kaio and Weslley sent Buriram down the tunnel at the break with a 4-0 lead. We had another beer, as our barmaid nearly broke into a grin. We also attempted to get into the away end for a different view but the security wouldn’t have it.

The Army fans had something to cheer on fifty three minutes when Pongsuriyan scored. They gave it their best shot and tried to carry on, but there was a large gulf in class between the two sides. Ten minutes later Kim quelled any thoughts of a comeback to make it 5-1.

‘Ram were determined to see just how much confetti their fans had travelled with, which was thrown around following each goal as a couple of further efforts from Kaio allowed him to complete his hat trick.

With five minutes remaining we headed for the exit and took the footbridge over the Don Muang Expressway to hail down a taxi. It was time for us to meet up with Gavin Shaw and his good friend Anthony for a liberal libation on Soi Cowboy.

A good time was had by all as we related the tail of a shocking Army United team. If only we had known, or I had done my research properly!

To read details on my previous visit to the Thai Army Sports Stadium for an Army United game, please click here.