Chonburi Stadium (Chonburi)

Chonburi Stadium, sometimes called Chonburi Daikin Stadium, is a multi-purpose venue opened in 2010. It is used primarily by Chonburi FC, whom I went to see in action, as well as staging occasional international games and the semi-finals of cup competitions.

My Visits

Chonburi 1 TOT SC 1

Thai Premier League - Sunday 2nd November 2014

👨‍👨‍👧‍👧 7,666 🎟️ 200 THB (£4.80)

What was a remarkable occasion can be read about on the Chonburi FC page.

Thailand 2 Nepal 0 

Friendly - Thursday 24th March 2022

👨‍👨‍👧‍👧 3,386 🎟️ 100 THB (£2.40)

As someone living in Thailand, I was not going to turn down the opportunity of going to cheer on the national team, especially as I fancied a return to Chonburi. Tickets for this game and the following Sunday against Suriname were easy to come by via Thai Ticket Major.

There were several ways of travelling along the Gulf to the city. In the end, friends gave me good advice to try to do it by minibus. Sure enough, there was a service from the specific small van station over the road from Chatuchak 2 Market near where I lived in Minburi.

I arrived with enough time to grab some provisions before we departed, with my drop-off point being opposite Central Chonburi, ideal for my hotel. It took about fifteen minutes on foot from the mall to find my excellent accommodation for the evening at Central Place, which cost 668 THB.

There was time for a nap before setting off for a stroll towards the Chonburi Stadium, which was around twenty minutes away. It was good to see plenty of activities for fans outside, as a real effort had been made.

No stalls were selling beer. Those imbibing were buying from the 7/11 at the far end, where my ticket was for the gate on Soi Nartmontasevee 30. I grabbed a couple of small cans and mingled near the Ultras, who set off a pyro display before they entered the stadium.

The crowd in general was family-oriented. It was good to see the Thai FA offer the fans of a footballing stronghold the chance to see their national team. It was a case of finding the best seat as the ticket wasn’t numbered. I got a decent view towards the back of the curve.

The match itself would struggle to find a highlights package, but it wasn’t pedestrian. Nepal were serious about their task and determined not to lose, using every trick in the book to contain their hosts, and by regularly putting ten men behind the ball.

I later read that the visitors were missing some of their star names, so a little understanding is fair. I’m not sure what to say about the first half, apart from the fact that Thailand was attacking towards our end, or at least should have been. Beer wasn’t allowed in the stands, and Pujan Uparkoti of Nepal was shown a yellow card; these were the only things of note.

Kevin Deeromram for the home side put in a low cross-come shot that away keeper Kiran Chemjong Limbu dealt with after three minutes. The goalie then easily saved a side-footed effort from Picha Autra and then smothered a shot from Tristan Do.

Pathompol Charoenrattanapirom fired high and wide while Chemjong Limbu made himself the centre of attention several times with theatrical catches. Charoenrattanapirom was a little closer soon after the restart from the edge of the box.

A curling effort from Adisak Kraisorn was just too high as Changsuek continued to press. Deeromram somehow sliced wide after forcing himself through on goal on the left-hand side of the penalty area as the pressure mounted, with Manuel Bihr having an effort pushed away.

Pansa Hemviboon saw his header come back off the bar with the keeper motionless before the deadlock was finally broken with twelve minutes left on the clock. Philip Roller cut inside in the box, and his left-footed drive found the top corner of the net via a deflection.

Sasalak Haiprakhon went close with a low drive before a low shot from Chaowat Veerachat in the final minute of normal time, securing the victory. It had been hard work, but Thailand got there in the end.

At full-time, I had plans. HopfAddict looked tempting on the way to the match with its range of foreign beers, but the prices were on the steep side. Instead, I headed to Queen Bar. It had decent reviews, and they had been kind enough to reply to my enquiries on Facebook.

It proved to be an excellent choice. The owner was a lovely man, as were the staff and customers. A decent acoustic guitar singer provided the entertainment. We got chatting, and the boss said to wait, so he could drive me home to my hotel. Outstanding customer service.

It had been another excellent few hours of learning and exploring. The football wasn’t the best, but the people most certainly were.

Many thanks to my good friend, Chonburi FC fan Dale, for providing information for this piece. Dale compiles the excellent and highly recommended fanzine/blog, It's A Habit That Sticks, as well as editing A Thai Football Podcast, which comes out weekly.