The Chira Nakhon Stadium in Hat Yai, southern Thailand, was built in 1944 and has long served as the city’s main sporting venue. Before the arrival of structured national leagues around the turn of the millennium, it regularly hosted football and other events.
The first Hat Yai club to compete in national competition was Hatyai FC, who entered the Regional League Division 2 Southern Region in 2010 as an expansion side, finishing twelfth in their debut season.
A strong improvement followed as the ‘Red Eagles’ climbed to fourth the next year, before slipping to eighth in 2012. After a brief hiatus, they returned in 2014 but struggled near the bottom of the table, eventually stepping away again.
Hatyai FC returned once more in 2016, finishing tenth, before improving to fifth in 2017 and third in 2018, with Akkarapol Meesawat leading the scoring during their spell at Muang Lak Southern Stadium.
By this stage, a second club had emerged in the city. Hatyai City won the Thailand Amateur League South in 2017 and joined the restructured Thai League system, initially sharing Chira Nakhon Stadium with their rivals.
They achieved mid-table finishes in their early seasons, with Teerawat Durnee and later Apdussalam Saman among the key scorers, before relocating to Southern Major City Stadium.
After the pandemic and further restructuring, the club rebranded as Young Singh Hatyai United, returning to Chira Nakhon Stadium for a period. Despite a strong 2021–22 season, off-field issues saw them fail licensing requirements and exit the league system.
As of early 2024, there has been no successful revival of a Hat Yai-based club in the national structure.
My visit
Wednesday 1st January 2025
Many times, in the past, I have celebrated the start of the New Year by heading off to football to blow the cobwebs away and enjoy the cold air and a few beers. It would have been remiss of me not to fit in some football even while in a new city to me.
My wife and I were in Hat Yai with her cousin and family on the latest leg of our tour of Laos and Thailand. The countdown to midnight had been celebrated with Q as he showed me downtown and then on to a late bar with other friends and relatives.
I was certainly in need of cobwebs being blown away and desperately wanted to find a store selling tea bags, having made the schoolboy error of forgetting to pack any at the start of our jaunt. I had mentioned that I would walk to the stadium to get my steps count in the following morning with some exercise.
However, our hosts said it was a long way, and we could kill two birds with one stone. Well, three as it transpired, as we were also treated to a sightseeing tour of the city and that of Songkhla before dining at an amazing restaurant that had a museum.
The stadium was not unlike many other provincial venues around the country. Where the Chira Nakhon Stadium differed was that it had an uninterrupted horseshoe open bowl and then a main stand that stood alone. All the seats were blue and green.
Compared to many venues still hosting Thai League football, it was in marvellous condition and well-maintained. One wondered why a sustainable club in such a large cosmopolitan city failed to take off. No doubt, being badly run saw off the previous two Hat Yai clubs, as could Songkhla FC, as the province’s major outfit.
Once I had enjoyed my little dalliance, I was taken to
a large store near the railway station to buy tea bags, some mature cheddar
cheese, and crackers. While I love Thai food, I sometimes need some comfort eating and
drinking.
