The 2010 season ended in promotion as the club became JW Rangsit following a deal with the JW Real Estate Group when Prachinburi FC were defeated in the play offs. The following campaign saw Rangsit consolidate their place as they moved to Thupatemee Stadium to share with Air Force United.
Unfortunately, another move was needed towards the end of the campaign as Thupatemee was hit by the disastrous floods in November. Rangsit played out the season at Nakhon Nayok Military School. They remained there before heading to the Queen Sirikit Sport Stadium for the second half of the 2012 season.
The 2012 season ended in relegation back to the third-tier Regional League, this time in the Central East Region. For the new campaign, Rangsit returned to play their home games at their original university home.
After a season in the Central East Region, the club was moved into the Bangkok Region, where they ended in the lower reaches of the table in 2014, before changing names back to Rangsit University for the 2015 campaign.
The name change didn't alter things on the pitch, as the side once again finished in the lower reaches. Another ninth-placed ending came in 2016 as the club became usually referred to as RSU FC, although they are also known as Rangsit University.
Changes in the Thai League system came into play for the 2017 season as a fourth tier was added. RSU were allocated a slot in League 4 Bangkok Region. Weerayut Phuiprom finished as top scorer for 'The Trespassing Tiger' as the side finished in eighth spot.
Banjong Padungpattanodom led the scoring in the 2018 campaign under head coach Niphon Biawtungnoi as the team finished the season in tenth place. A second from bottom finish in 2019 saw the club relegated to the Thailand Amateur League in 2020.
However, that competition didn't take place owing to the COVID19 pandemic, leaving the team to compete in the Thai University League, also known as the U League. The side reformed as The iCon RSU to compete in the Thailand Semi-Pro League in 2022-23.
Phumipat Pinthaisong coached the side as they progressed from the Bangkok Zone to then clinch a runners-up spot in the Southern Zone as RSU reclaimed their place in the national set-up. Queen Sirikits 60th Anniversary Stadium in Pathum Thani was initially selected as the home venue.
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| Bangkok University Stadium |
Krisada Sangchant led the side in T3 at the start of the 2023-24 season, as the club first played home games at North Bangkok University Stadium before Bangkok University Stadium was adopted as their new home. The club’s stay lasted just one season back in the pro set up before being relegated.
Some doubts surrounding the backing of The iCon as owner/sponsors circulated as the company was investigated by official regulators away from football.
My visits
Wednesday 27th March 2013
My day away from the early touring life with my cricketing pals was going well. I had already visited two stadiums and was now really getting into the mood despite the soaring temperatures that even had the locals struggling.
However, I was soon to hit frustration in the way of a Bangkok taxi driver. Now I admit my Thai isn't the best, but with the aid of large print copies of Google Maps, I thought that finding a well-known university campus would be easy enough. Sadly I was to be proved wrong.
My driver seemed anxious, almost as if he didn't want the fare. That was fine as far as I was concerned, as long as he let me know. Instead, we crawled along past Don Muang Airport before he stopped and asked for directions. In the end, I paid him up and went in search of another cab, which soon arrived.
This time my new pilot made no mistake and soon had me by the campus entrance, just as many students were calling it a day. I did my usual act of smiling at the guards while continuing to walk. I could see my target and I didn't want to be denied.
As it turned out the venue was a bit of a disappointment. It had a shale track around it and a small raised Main Stand on the halfway line. Apart from that, there were no other structures apart from the floodlight pylons. It was like a smaller version of Kasetsart University.
I did the necessary with my camera before heading back through the gate, following the rather attractive students as I went. I was soon in another taxi heading to the home of Bangkok Glass.
Monday June 18th 2018
This is a story of what can go wrong when you don't check on the websites and Twitter feeds before you set off to watch a game in the lower divisions in Thailand.
Wednesday 27th March 2013
My day away from the early touring life with my cricketing pals was going well. I had already visited two stadiums and was now really getting into the mood despite the soaring temperatures that even had the locals struggling.
However, I was soon to hit frustration in the way of a Bangkok taxi driver. Now I admit my Thai isn't the best, but with the aid of large print copies of Google Maps, I thought that finding a well-known university campus would be easy enough. Sadly I was to be proved wrong.
My driver seemed anxious, almost as if he didn't want the fare. That was fine as far as I was concerned, as long as he let me know. Instead, we crawled along past Don Muang Airport before he stopped and asked for directions. In the end, I paid him up and went in search of another cab, which soon arrived.
This time my new pilot made no mistake and soon had me by the campus entrance, just as many students were calling it a day. I did my usual act of smiling at the guards while continuing to walk. I could see my target and I didn't want to be denied.
As it turned out the venue was a bit of a disappointment. It had a shale track around it and a small raised Main Stand on the halfway line. Apart from that, there were no other structures apart from the floodlight pylons. It was like a smaller version of Kasetsart University.
I did the necessary with my camera before heading back through the gate, following the rather attractive students as I went. I was soon in another taxi heading to the home of Bangkok Glass.
Monday June 18th 2018
This is a story of what can go wrong when you don't check on the websites and Twitter feeds before you set off to watch a game in the lower divisions in Thailand.
Sometimes my adventures while pursuing my hobby don’t work out how I expect when leaving in the morning, and this day out definitely fell into this category.
I was entering into the second half of a tremendous holiday in Bangkok and Isaan. Everything had more or less fallen into place, much to my surprise. Therefore, I could see no warning signs of the cock up approaching as I left Steve’s house in Minburi on another lovely morning.
I was entering into the second half of a tremendous holiday in Bangkok and Isaan. Everything had more or less fallen into place, much to my surprise. Therefore, I could see no warning signs of the cock up approaching as I left Steve’s house in Minburi on another lovely morning.
I had my rucksack with me, as the plan was to head straight to Don Muang Airport after the match. My intended match was RCU FC against Port B in Thai League 4 Bangkok Region.
The website said it was a 4pm kick-off when I last checked. I took local transport down to Bangkapi to meet Steve for coffee in the Mall, where my mate asked if I’d checked that the match was definitely on?
I laughed at him. “Of course it is” I replied. We said our goodbyes until the following Saturday when we’d be enjoying the final few hours of my trip, as I headed to take the Saen Saep Ferry downtown. I alighted from the packed service at Asok before heading to Phetchaburi underground station.
The plan was to make my way as near as I could to Rangsit University by public transport aside from taxis unless absolutely necessary. I should have stuck to my plan of taking a bus from Chatuchak but I thought I’d save time by jumping out at Phahon Yothin.
I’d been past this stop before when heading to watch an Air Force game by bus. What I hadn’t realised was that was on a different road to the one I required for this present journey. I ended up walking and getting lost several times around the Central Plaza Ladprao.
My spare iPhone gobbled up battery usage quicker than I could use it. I was in a bit of a quandary until I eventually worked out that I needed to cut through the Mall and out of the far side of the Centara Grand Hotel to the main Don Muang road.
Eventually, I managed to find a bus stop and a service going north. The plan was to take it past the airport and then commandeer a taxi the rest of the way as the bus service didn’t appear to service the university.
Everything worked fine. I got myself some much-needed refreshments at the 7/11 by Don Muang railway station and then hailed a cab. I thought that the hard work had been overcome. How little I knew!
My driver thought I knew exactly where to go; which I thought I did. He was expecting to drop me at a condo. He didn’t understand my exact destination. For the following twenty minutes, we went up and down the main road as we missed turnings and I called it wrong.
Finally, we were on track and I expected the left turning down Thanon Ek Thaksin to be a simple enough ride to the university. The Skytrain was being developed along the route and we saw Lak Hok station ahead nearing readiness for the new service. All seemed good.
However, I had not realised that our required road was a flyover above where we were with no access. This led to us trying other turnings with no success before we took a U-turn and went back south of the station.
After what seemed like ages and my driver still somehow finding the strength to smile we turned down a small soi and had to pay a man a toll to cross the Khlong before we did a right and got onto Thanon Ek Thaksin. My pilot was still unconvinced as we went down an interesting road with plenty of facilities for food, drink and relaxation.
Going past the entrance to Muang Ake Golf Club we soon turned into the grounds of Rangsit University. I got out close to the small stadium and paid up. I think the driver was glad to be shot of me, even if he had taken a good fare.
Immediately I became aware that my test of endurance was far from over. There was a distinct lack of footballers on the pitch, that I could see through the trees. Perhaps they were in the tunnel ready to come out for the match as it was nearing kick-off time?
The stand was virtually empty with just three or four students in there with a drum. I knew that fourth division games were sparsely attended, but surely the under-23 Port side would attract a few more than this?
I tried to convince myself that I was at the right location and time but in truth, I was struggling. There were no team coaches behind the stand and no desk to take admission money. I went out to the front to see the scoreboard on the far side displaying a 3-1 score.
The match had already taken place. I eventually discovered that it had been played twenty-four hours previously. This was virtually an exact repeat of my first two visits to Lamphun Warriors. What an idiot!
However, all was not lost as I salvaged something from the adventure as I took a further taxi to Thammasat Stadium, where I saw the first half of the League 4 clash between Dome and BGC, which can be read about here.
Minburi City 3 Krungthep FC 1 (Friday 29th April 2022) Thailand Amateur League Bangkok Group E (att: c100)
Please click here and scroll down for a full description of a wonderful occasion as Rangsit University Stadium was used as one of several neutral venues for the group stages of the 2022 Thailand Amateur League
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