Ubon FC, also known as Ubon Kruanapat through sponsorship, is a professional football club that represents the city of Ubon Ratchathani in the Isan region of Thailand. The club was formed in 2009 prior to becoming an expansion club in Regional League Division 2 North Eastern Region in 2010 as Ubon Tiger FC.
This was the third tier of Thai football at the time, with the team playing their home games at Ubon Rachathani Sports School Stadium. Surasak Thongkae top scored as the side ended near the bottom of the table, before moving into Ubon Ratchathani University Stadium south of the city for the 2011 campaign.
It saw an even lower finish despite the goals of Christian Fokou, with the 2012 campaign seeing the club return to their former home ground and changing title to Ubon Rachathani FC. Not that it did much good as the Tigers finished bottom of the table.
A change of name this time to bon UMT followed. This should not be confused with the club of the similar name that later played in the top flight of Thai football. However, the influence of the UMT university saw the team finish third thanks to the goals of David Srangnanaok.
The league title followed in 2014, which saw qualification for the Champions League playoffs. Elvis Job had put away the goals, but Ubon failed to go up from the group stages. Obviously impressed with the potential on offer UMT set up their own side in 2015 to enter the competition.
This meant a change of name to Ubon Rachathani FC for the side formed in 2009. They played second fiddle to their money laden neighbours and finished in seventh spot with Kim Ji Hun banging in the goals. Bouba Abbo became the next goalscoring hero for the fans, as he and his side ended as runners-up in 2016.
Again, the play-offs were a step too far, prior to league re-organisation which saw the introduction of four tiers in 2017. Ubon Ratchathani returned to the University Stadium for a solitary season as they finished second from bottom in Thai League 3 Upper Region.
A much improved second place ensued in 2018, when back in the city, as Ahmed Abdalazen and Abbo shared the goals. Nattapon Tabtanon led the scoring tally in 2019 which ended in a seventh place finish before further reconstruction of the Thai League took place.
The competition reverted to a European calendar in 2020-21 by which time the club had been renamed Ubon Kruanapat after ownership of the club was completed by the local food production company, Kruanapat.
Jirayoo Suwandee was appointed as head coach as Ubon finished fourth in Thai League 3 Northeast. Tana Chanabut and then Danuson Chaiyawan led the side from the touchline. Saran Srideth was at the helm for the start of the 2021-22 campaign.
It saw the Tigers repeat fourth place, as Oscar Plape led the scoring charts, as he did once again in 2022-23 under head coach Kittiyuth Puttakru. This time the side finished fifth. The 2023-24 saw the club change home venue to the Ubon Rathchathani Rajabhat University (RBRU) Stadium.
Chaleamkwan Rienthong was appointed as head coach as the side received three Thai under-20-year-old stars on loan from Buriram United for the second leg of the season. Kittiyuth Puttakru took charge of the side from the start of the 2024-25 campaign.
Ubon FC will play in Thai League 3 Northeast in the 2024-25 season.
My visits
Ubon Kruanapat 0 Sisaket United 0 (Sunday 14th January 2023) Thai League 3 Northeast (att: 522)
Despite the scoreline this was a very watchable 0-0 in a local derby with the clubs only being an hour apart. League leader Sisaket increased the pace that they played at with Brazlian striker Danilo a man transformed from previous showings.
In a tight first period which fluctuated in terms of ascendancy, the visitors came closest to scoring when a free kick from Heman Kittiamphaipruek cannoned back off the angle of post and bar with keeper Klanarong Wissutiyanpirom motionless.
After the break the usually ultra reliable Matias Pannigazzi missed a sitter from close range when getting on the end of a delicious free kick delivery, and the away side spurned another couple of chances on the break.
All the while Ubon played their part going forward and putting in a string of good centres without getting a shot on target in anger throughout. Defender Mounzir Coulidiati was impressive as he was in the game that ended 0-0 in the reverse fixture.
The game became stretched in the closing stages after decent home midfielder Jakree Burapha was shown a second yellow card, when it looked like he’d fallen and done a good job of using his chest while on the floor to block a through ball, but the ref was having none of it.
Sisaket failed to capitalise, in what was a frustrating ending. Second placed Mahasarakham closed the gap at the top to two points, with them having a game in hand. The two sides were scheduled to meet in the final game of the season in Sisaket.
A great day out, being dropped halfway in Kanthararom by my wife to meet my mate John who drive us to Ubon Ratchathani. A late lunch was enjoyed at the excellent American owned Peppers, where I generally take friends if are using the nearby airport. It provided a good menu and fridge with a warm welcome from the boss, was nice.
Ubon has five stadiums, all worthy of staging league football. We visited UMT Stadium for a look, now home of Ubon Poly United who are trying to win promotion from the semi-pro league, where the team was training.
UBRU Happiness Stadium is one of several Rajabhat Universities around Thailand and is a pleasant place to watch football. It used to have a shale track but is now grassed over with raised covered stands down either side. It was upgraded for sporting games between the staff of all of Thailand’s university to compete in, like a mini-Olympics and they have done a great job with it. Leg room and viewing was excellent.
The away fans were congregated on the open curve behind the goal. We went in the main stand, with my Sisaket shirt giving our game away. We weren’t the only ones in there! Not that there was any issue. The locals could not have been friendlier, with the crowd including a high ratio of aesthetic onlookers.
To round off what was a near perfect day, my good lady was waiting at my pickup point with a can of Thai brewed German style dunkel which was most appreciated. Some top snooker and the Everton v Aston Villa game on TV over grub and more drinks was most entertaining before bedtime.
Ubon Kruanapat 0 Udon United 2 (Friday 6th September 2024) Thai League Cup 2nd Qualifying Round (att: 300)
Back in Sisaket after a break in the capital, it was time to enjoy a day out in Ubon, which is never a problem. However, my mate John was missing, so it was to be a solo visit, more the pity. The unusual 5pm Friday kickoff wasn’t particularly convenient for the trains as I would arrive around 2pm so I sought out the other option.
My wife drove me to Kanthararom for me to catch the bus where an early drama unfolded. At the usual little bus station, the man on the desk was adamant that there were no buses running from there. He had been previously unhelpful at the best of times, and refused to read my phone asking him a question in Thai.
Communications can sometimes be awkward but there is usually a way round if there's willingness. He seemed to want me to get on the back of a motorbike, which there was no chance of. In the end I put Taew on the phone, who told me to head back to the market to meet her. What had happened was the bus station had now moved to the main road through town.
I wandered off, found a kind lady near where I believed the new stop was, who directed me over the road to an open fronted office. Another welcoming young man told me that it would be around forty-minutes before the minibus turned up, but that was no problem to me.
The van was packed when it arrived. I got the last seat among many youngsters who looked like students heading to one of the several universities in the adjacent city. On arrival I decided to walk to the UBRU stadium, breaking for food along the way. The words of my good lady were beginning to ring out as I progressed.
Huge dark clouds were heading our way, and I had left home without a poncho or jacket telling her that I would be fine when she enquired. The winds grew stronger as I was still ten minutes light of my destination. Fortunately, someone was looking down on me as the rain started to pour just as I reached the stadium.
I paid my 80 Baht for a ticket that was handed over and then taken away by the security guard by the steps to the stand and replaced by a small sticker placed on my shoulder to signify that I’d paid and to allow access in and out. The teams walked out for the King’s Anthem as it bucketed down. Why they couldn’t wait a few minutes I don’t know.
Both sides had wonderful new kits on. I was taken by both, with each also having some very large Africans in their respective line ups. The crowd looked very low at this point, and although it grew as people finished work, it was nowhere near the official figure that appeared on the website.
The home keeper Ratchanasak Buarapha made a decent stop in the early stages as the players struggled on the sodden surface once the rain had subsided. There wasn’t too much goalmouth action, with plenty of mistakes making the first half watchable enough. Johnathon Bernardo of Udon had a header saved just before the break.
The interval offered me the opportunity to wander round and take up position in the opposite stand for the second period as it would be easier to get picked up by Grab taxi at full time and I enjoy getting a different perspective on what’s happening.
The vocal home fans were split in two small groups at either end of where I sat, a phenomenon regular in Thai football that I can’t get my head around. I turned on commentary of the cricket from The Oval back home and is if by magic the teams went off for bad light within minutes.
One thing that Test Match Special has always achieved, in all my years of listening, is to provide some great discussion and interviews during breaks in play and so it proved once again. Along with my earlier Podcasts I was royally entertained until I got off the train a few hours later.
Anyway, after the restart in Ubon, a long hopeful free kick from Thawatchai Aocharod of the away team was tipped over by Ratchanasak as United built up a head of steam. Not that I could see a goal coming, with the prospect of dreaded extra time being considered. I said as much on Twitter, which did the trick.
A minute later, the sixty-fifth of the match, Natthawut Khamrin cut the ball back from the byline where it was met by a volley from Thawatchai who rifled in low and hard. The marking was lamentable, but the goal was probably a fair reflection of proceedings. One home fan was not impressed, his vocals drowning out my radio listening.
Ubon had taken off the giant Jibril Abubakar by this point. I expected his presence to make a real impact, but in truth he may as well have sat with me. Their best player was the almost veteran Oscar Plape who always puts in a shift but was gradually getting slower each time I saw him.
The lead was doubled eight minutes from the end. A quick free kick from Hobeen Lee on the halfway line opened the Ubon defence like a can of beans allowing sub, Chatri Rattanawong to beat any claims for offside to finish neatly. And that was that. Udon through to the next round.
My Grab arrived without any issues and transported me to Amber House Coffee and Food who had advertised that they also sold beer. I was in a quandary to choose this place or Demo 88, with both being around ten minutes’ walk to the station. Maybe Demo will get the vote next time.
Amber House was certainly the sort of place to go for coffee and cake. That’s not to say that the youngsters working there weren’t very polite if confused as to why a big foreigner chose to drink three large bottles of Leo in an hour while seemingly laughing like a congenital idiot.
I can only put it down to rushing my drinks while relaxing and enjoying the chat from the cricket. I headed off giving myself plenty of time to make the final train, where a youngster wanted to give me his ticket free of charge after he had bought the wrong one.
Taew was waiting for me at Kanthararom and about to have her patience severely tested. She knows I’m bonkers and I like to visit new places. There was a bar we often passed near the station which looked interesting but only opened later. She agreed for us to go and have a look.
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| Beers in Amber House with the cool beer mat |
We shared a couple of drinks outside. We were the only customers. Inside was not particularly impressive and resembled a 1970s club back in England. The welcoming girls seemed fed up and there was something a bit creepy about the owner. I made my apologies in the car home. Taew simply shrugged it off. I've got a good one.
Sometimes it doesn’t pay to be too adventurous, and the best ideas after beer should remain as ideas. An interesting day all in all. I certainly missed someone to keep me on the straight and narrow.
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