Club Founded: 2012
League: Thai League 3 Northeast (current level)
Early History
Wang Saphung Municipality FC, formed in 2012, competed for attention and support with another club, called Loei City. The team played at the Provincial Stadium in the centre of the city, winning the fourth-tier Thai Division 3 Tournament North Eastern Region in 2016, beating TWD Tanaytum 6-0 in the final.
When the national league structure was reorganised the following year, the club was placed in Thai League 4 Northeast with home games played at Wang Saphung Stadium. They ended the campaign in the playoff positions with Malagasy forward Carlos leading the scoring. Muangkan United ended any dreams of promotion.
League Titles
The change of name when it came in 2018 made sense if the club wanted to attract sponsors and reflect the city that it represented. It brought with it further success. Chawin Thirawatsri's goals helped the Se-Lai Warriors claim the regional title a year later. North Bangkok University ended promotion hopes in the playoff final.
Wittaya Thanawatcharasanti put the goals away in 2019, which also saw Loei finish top of their regional division. This time, Pathumthani University were defeated in the third-place game to see United win promotion under head coach Chumnan Pharkunthud.
Playoff Disappointment
The Thai League once again restructured and turned to the European fixture calendar for 2020-21. Loei were placed in Thai League 3 Northeast with the club moving to play its home games at Loei Provincial Stadium.
Diarra Junior Aboubacar put away the chances as the side ended as divisional runners-up, with the playoffs being best forgotten about. The following season saw a third regional title being collected by United as Yossagorn Silaket arrived as the new head coach before being later replaced by Teeratada Chamrus. Again, the playoffs proved a step too far.
Stadium Changes
The club had played a season at Blue Dragon Muang Loei Stadium before moving to Ruamjai Stadium, Loei Rajabhat University, at the start of the season. Ibrahim Konaré took over goalscoring responsibilities in 2022-23 after Pradya Sitti had been appointed as head coach.
Santi Polcha had a brief spell in charge of the team before being succeeded by Pratan Senala for the start of the following campaign. Previous coach Sitti returned for a second spell as the season petered out disappointingly.
Recent Times
Theeraphon Tungdee was brought in as coach at the start of 2024-25 before being replaced by Kistachai Wongsim. The club announced a return to the Loei Provincial Stadium in the city centre for the 2025-26 season as Tana Chanabut came in as head coach, under whom the side reached the playoffs.
My visit
Road Trip
Forever looking for an opportunity to get to a match, especially if it is at a stadium I've yet to visit, I came up with an excellent plan which my wife Taew was in total agreement with. We were scheduled to head to Chiang Khan on the Mekong in Loei province, the day after the game took place.
It would entail an eight-hour trek, and although we were to stay there for two nights, I wanted to make the most of it, rather than arriving exhausted and limiting what we could see and do. My good lady was happy to head to Loei a day earlier to have a look at that city and then arrive by the river at lunchtime on Sunday.
Following Loei, we were heading to the annual Sixes Cricket at Chiang Mai, and I wanted us to be able to relax and enjoy it, arriving relatively fresh, rather than it being an ordeal. We set off early and saw places for the first time. After passing Khon Kaen, the 201 road through Phu Pha Man National Park had us bookmark it for a stopover in the future.
Pre Match
We arrived in Loei city in the early afternoon, checking into the excellent Sukjai Grand Luxury Boutique Hotel, chosen by Taew. Her choice was impeccable, not least because it was in easy walking distance from the Rajabhat University Stadium, where the match would be kicking off a few hours later at 6pm.
After a pleasant siesta, I left Taew to relax as I went for a stroll, determined to find a shortcut after crossing the main road and headed along a small road that ran behind the campus. There were numerous little shops and open-fronted restaurants where I should have grabbed the opportunity to sit down for a beer.
A Look Around
There was a pedestrian gate open to gain access through the wall into the university, saving me a long walk back around. It was still early, so I went for a look around and took some photos before paying my 80 baht admission fee, buying a soft drink and a pot noodle, and sitting inside the stand.
The venue had the usual type of main stand, some open scaffold seating opposite, with a steep banked terrace behind the goal to the left, with nearby buildings giving it an enclosed feel. I’d certainly been to far worse venues. Before kick-off, a gaggle of expats arrived and sat in front of me, carrying beers with them.
The Match
Hilariously, despite there not being any rainfall for several weeks, one end of the pitch was close to being waterlogged. The groundsman being distracted when forgetting that the sprinklers were turned on was the only explanation that I could fathom. It certainly added to the entertainment.
The diminutive Kitsana Chitchuea for Loei would impress me all evening, and he went close in the early stages when he had a decent effort saved by visiting custodian Jeerasak Phananut.
An almighty scramble in the tenth minute almost saw Surin go ahead. It ended with Aphidet Sawaengsuk firing wide. The home side goalie, Panupan Juheang, wasn’t filling me with lots of confidence under the superb floodlights as the crowd gradually grew to what I thought was a higher number than the official declaration.
Loei went ahead just halfway through the first period. An excellent pass sent Kitsana scurrying down the line before he delivered a beautiful cross to the back post, which was headed home with aplomb by Amporn Chaipong. It took fourteen minutes for Surin to restore parity.
Expat Advice
A lovely left-footed finish from Jattuphon Nueakaew did the job. At the interval, I had a chat with a couple of the expats outside the stand. They were friendly and knew their stuff, offering me some superb travel advice for the following day regarding attractions as well as a lowdown on Loei and the fortunes of their side.
Into the second half, Kitsana slid in and saw his effort come back off the crossbar, with the rebound being wastefully blasted over. Wanthayawut Nuchkasae then headed down only for Winiton Duangchai to blaze his effort over the bar as the hosts ramped up the pressure.
The crowd were treated to an appearance from the experienced Loei sub, Arthit Sunthornphit. The former Thailand international midfielder from his time at Chonburi was still capable of spraying the ball around without doing too much running.
The game petered out in the closing stages. Despite this, I enjoyed what I thought was quite a decent watch, as neither side had anything to play for and consequently took the shackles off. Surin, particularly, had been a turgid team to watch in the past, which came as a pleasant surprise.
Saturday Night in Loei
My Grab driver was bang on time, meaning I missed the final minute or so of stoppage time. We collected Taew from the hotel and headed to Walking Street, grabbing some food without being overly captivated.
Just over an hour later, we were back opposite the hotel, sitting outside a bar run by youngsters. They gave us a warm welcome, even if the price they charged me for a small bottle of whisky to take out was on the steep side.
The advice
offered by those at the match was spot on as we enjoyed the Skywalk at Chiang
Khan and the other attractions in the pretty riverside town, leaving Loei
province with a very favourable impression a few days later.
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