Ground: PAT Stadium
Capacity: 6,250
Club Founded: 1967
League: Thai League 1 (current level)
Founded in 1967 as the Port Authority of Thailand Football Club, the team lifted the national title in their debut season. The King’s and Queen’s Cups were won on numerous occasions before the club became a founder member of the Thai Premier League in 1996.
Under the new Football Association of Thailand regulations, the club became Thai Port FC Ltd in 2009. Port also made the extremely popular move to the PAT Stadium close to their home support after years at stadiums around the city, as well as a spell in Chonburi.
Khlong Toei
The volatile nature of the local home support led to the stadium being closed for three games after fans threw missiles at the match officials. Stricter regulations saw drinks being banned inside the stadium to curb the problem.
During the 2010 season, the club played some of its home games at alternative venues while the PAT Stadium was upgraded. They even played a home game in the AFC Cup against Wofoo Tai Po of Hong Kong in Phuket, in the south of the country.
Relegation Woes
The 2012 season saw the team relegated for the first time despite the goals of top scorer Olof Hvidén-Watson. At the end of the campaign, Singhtarua FC was adopted as the new club name, as new floodlights were installed at PAT Stadium. The former Thai international Dusit Chalermsan was installed as head coach.
Singhtarua went on a fine run under the new head coach, with Brazilian Leandro Oliveira fuelling the passion of the Khlong Toey Army with his mesmerising skill. The team won promotion at the end of the 2013 season, setting off wild celebrations at the PAT Stadium.
Back in the top-flight, Leandro continued to find form. Port even went to the top of the table for a couple of games. Port FC was the new club name a year later, with the club logo being redesigned. Somchai Chuayboonchum and then Paiboon Lertvimonrut had spells in charge of the team.
Madame Pang
The Port management was purchased by Nualphan Lamsam. A powerful businesswoman, often known as Madame Pang, she signed a five-year agreement to take control of the club, while the stadium remained in the ownership of the Port Authority.
Former England international, Gary Stevens, had a short spell as team boss after a poor start to the 2015 season before being replaced by Somchai Subpherm. Port were relegated on the final day of the season, by which time Japanese coach Masahiro Wada had become the latest incumbent for the job.
Rebuilding
The only real positive around this time was the signing of Spanish defender David Rochela from Buriram United. The goals of Rodrigo Maranhão helped the team to win promotion a year later. Wada had been replaced by Jadet Meelarp in mid-season, who in turn lasted until June 2017.
Legendary former Thai international star and national team manager, Kiatisuk "Zico" Senamuang, took over at the PAT Stadium, but poor results led to the return of Jadet within a few months. Josimar scored the goals before Port ended in third place in 2018, thanks to the goals of Dragan Bošković and Sergio Suárez.
Suárez scored the solitary goal in the FA Cup final against Ratchaburi Mitr Pohl at Pathum Thani to win the trophy. Pairoj Borwonwatanadilok had a spell as head coach before being replaced by Choketawee Promrut, who took charge of the side for the 2020-21 campaign.
Another third-place league finish ensued under the latest team boss, Sarawut Treephan. His spell was a short one. Dusit Chalermsan replaced him before Sarawut was reinstated by the trigger-happy Madame Pang. Scott Cooper was appointed as manager in June 2022, as the playing squad saw big changes.
Recent Years
However, the manager was sacked and replaced by his assistant, Matt Holland, before the appointment of joint head coaches, Choketawee Promrut and Surapong Kongthep. It was decided that another change of coach was required in November 2023, as former Police Tero boss Rangsan Viwatchaichok was installed.
He took the side to another third spot as Hamilton and Teerasak Poeiphimnai weighed in with the goals. Further investment in the side saw the arrival of Willen Mota. Despite a bright start to the 2024-25 season, the side dropped disappointing points as coach Rangsan resigned after a year in charge.
Port has a rivalry with Muangthong United, with it boiling over at times off the pitch. The video, above, from my YouTube Channel, looks into it as well as a fan's perspective of matchdays at both clubs.
Port appointed the experienced Brazilian manager, Alexandre Gama, in June 2025. He departed before the end of his solitary season in charge owing to health issues. In his absence, Port finished as the league runners-up before winning the League Cup with a 1-0 win against BG Pathum United.
Stadium Visit - Monday 26th April 2010
Freedom to Explore
On another blazing hot day at the end of my holiday, I had the opportunity to visit the PAT Stadium. My extended stay owing to the erupting Icelandic volcano was to come to an end the following day, and as I was in the city, I decided to make the effort to take a look
Earlier, I had delved into some Port FC history, visiting the Osatsapa Stadium when Port had shared the venue. It was a basic arena with one small stand and some temporary open scaffolding seating. The club had also previously played at the Thai-Japanese Stadium, which I would go on to visit for a Bangkok United home game.
On this occasion, I took the MRT underground to Khlong Toei, having sketched down rough directions to the stadium. Sure enough, I soon saw the floodlights peering over the buildings after a ten-minute walk along Rama IV Road and then down Sunthon Kosa Road.
Under Construction
The ground was mid-construction, so it was easy to gain access. I soon talked my way past a security guard who only seemed half interested, and I was in a gap and onto the corner of the pitch. To my right stood the oldest stand, containing the VIP areas and changing rooms.
Behind the nearest goal was a new stand which was still not fully constructed. A similar, smaller structure stood behind the far end, topped with a huge advertisement and scoreboard. The far side had a stand with orange and blue bucket seats in the lower section.
All three structures were on metal frames and seemed to be not dissimilar to the structures found at Withdean in Brighton and around the greens at major golf competitions. It was fairly obvious that football was taking off in Thailand, along with Port's popularity, hence the need for the construction of more stands.
The final capacity was intended to be 10,000 when completed. I imagined the atmosphere to be very good because of the environment, with there being no track around the pitch. The surrounding district was obviously one of the poorer districts in the city.
It provided an excellent place to go for food or shopping at the cheap markets. The stadium also backed onto a pleasant public garden behind one of the goals, which in time would be replaced by a condo block, containing one owned by Madame Pang.
My First Match
Matchday Build-Up
After returning victorious from the cricket at Chiang Mai once again, I wanted to see some Sunday football on my rest day in Bangkok. Originally, I had planned two games around Minburi, but my good mate Steve was out of town for the weekend.
Instead, I booked a central hotel for the evening and worked out two games nearer home. After taking in an hour of Globlex against Samut Sakon in the Regional League, I headed back to the main Rhampangpeng Road to flag down a taxi.
Thai taxi drivers, particularly those in Bangkok, can have surprisingly little knowledge of their own city, and so it proved once more. Not helped, it has to be said, as I did not know what stadium is in the Thai language. My pilot was a wonderful, smiley bloke, but he didn't have much of a clue.
Stadium Located
However, between us, we managed to find PAT Stadium through a mixture of writing down names on my pad and drawing impromptu maps. The brand new towering floodlights and the Singhtarua fans on mopeds finally gave the destination away.
I jumped out on the main road by the club shop and had a look at the merchandise. Time was getting on, so I headed across the training pitch to the rear of the open terrace and looked for the ticket booth. Everyone stopped and stood to attention while the national anthem was played, but the atmosphere was bubbling.
It reminded me of my day out at St Pauli in Hamburg, only considerably cheaper! I obtained my ticket before choosing the section down the side. I opted to go upstairs for a better view, even if the atmosphere wasn't quite as intense.
Proper Atmosphere
Many fans stood right against the railings at the front, so viewing wasn't as good as it could have been. Stewarding was generally non-existent, whereas the police looked like they were there to watch! The concourses behind the stands were heaving with fans of all ages, both men and women, with most wearing the orange and blue shirts of their heroes.
The PAT Stadium was in a fascinating location, being close to the docks, yet only ten minutes from the affluence of the tourism area of Sukhumvit Road. The club in recent times had seen players left unpaid, while the floodlights continually failed, to add to the hooliganism that had seen PAT closed, with the team being forced to play at an alternative venue.
An Aussie pal of mine, who lived locally, wanted to take his son down there, but his Thai wife wouldn’t let him. They have dubbed themselves the 'Millwall of Bangkok'. All kids were admitted free of charge. PAT Stadium was a proper football ground. Three sides had steep open metal terracing, with the home end slightly bigger than that reserved for visiting fans.
Great View
I had a view looking down on the play. The noise was incredible inside the place, with drums and all manner of musical instruments blaring out. The locals really got behind their side, and it was soon obvious that BB-CU would have to show great resolve to get anything from the match.
This was even more so when the near-side linesman buckled and flagged for a penalty for handball under great crowd and player pressure. Brazilian Leandro Oliveira slotted the ball home after a shoe was thrown from behind the goal at the visiting offender.
BB-CU equalised with an absolute beauty from Cameroon striker Bouba Abbo and gradually took the sting out of the home side, as Leandro and his pals whinged to anyone who’d listen about any decision.
Ref Pressure
The referee was obviously getting sick of this ploy and gave them less and less. The 75 or so away fans, which I thought was an abysmal turnout for a local derby. Despite this, they played and sang full songs in tune and thoroughly enjoyed their night out. I wished the England Band could have taken note.
At half-time, I mingled with home fans and a large number of ex-pats as I drank ice-cold cans of Leo beer for around 40p. For the second half, I went behind the goal in a fan group called The Flying Portman.
BB-CU always looked more dangerous with Bouba Abbo superb in strength and power. It was no surprise when he scored what proved to be the winner. It was sad to hear a sporadic monkey chant from the terraces aimed in his direction.
If it wasn’t for the home keeper, the margin would have been greater, and although Port had a few spells up the other end of their own, they didn’t really look like scoring. At full time, I headed for the club shop and bought a Singhtarua team shirt for 660 baht (around £13.50).
Yes, the club did appear to have problems in certain areas, but for the real atmosphere and a traditional stadium, just a couple of stops on the metro or a ten-minute cab ride from the western bars, there was only one place to head for a football fix. It reminded me of why I fell in love with the game as a kid.
I retired for the evening after a welcome, comforting McDonald's meal to relax and get a proper night's sleep so that I could fly down to Phuket the next morning full of life and ready for more fun.
The next fixtures that I attended can be viewed on this page.
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