Nonthaburi United

Nonthaburi United is a professional football club from the central province of the same name just north of the Thai capital of Bangkok. The club, like many others in the region, has a convoluted history.

While the club quote their formation as 2016 under the title of BTU S.Boonmeerit United FC, or 2020 in their present guise, the club's birth can be traced to Globlex FC who played at Ramkhamhaeng University Stadium from their formation in 2011 through until the end of the 2015 campaign. They can be read about here.

S.Boonmeerit Sport Club Co.Ltd. took over the ownership of the club and moved it to Bangkokthonburi University Stadium. In the 2016 season, the side finished fifth in Division 2 West.

Thai football had a major restructuring for the 2017 campaign, with BTU being placed in Thai League 4 West, where the goals of Diego Oliveira Silva helped his side reach third position to gain promotion to Thai League 3 Lower, where they ended sixth in 2018.

The 2019 season saw BTU United, as the club was then known, finish ninth with Natthawut Namthip topping the scoring charts. Nonthaburi United S.Boonmeerit were placed in Thai League 3 Bangkok Perimeter for 2020-21 as the Thai FA took on the European calendar.

A runners-up place was secured with Woraphot Somsrang putting away the goals before United were defeated in the qualifying round of the Champions League play-offs by Bangkok FC. 

Nonthaburi, under head coach Abdoul Coulibaly, finished third in 2021-22 to fall short of the promotion play-offs despite the goals of Brazilian star Dudu Lima. Payong Khunnan was appointed head coach at the start of the following season before the return of Coulibaly who was then replaced by Apichat Borisut.

The changes continued as Chalernmchai Uttamarat took charge of the side in a season that ended in eighth spot. The 2023-24 campaign saw United under new ownership having dropped S Boonmert from their title, come extremely close to being relegated, securing their safety with a final day victory away to AUU Inter Bangkok.

Pisanu Masuk had started the season as head coach before being replaced by Pakorn Chootsungchoen who lasted just a few games until the arrival of Yossagorn Silaket who somehow galvanised his troops who put together some results to save themselves from the drop as the club offered free admission to boost crowd numbers.

A new club crest was introduced for the 2024-25 season in which Achira Thongjerm to try and offer stability as head coach.

Nonthaburi United FC will play in Thai League 3 West in the 2024-25 season.

My visit

Nonthaburi United 2 Bangkok FC 2 (Sunday 19th December 2021) Thai League 3 Bangkok Perimeter (att: 120)

I was on the first football weekend away since relocating to Minburi, in Bangkok’s eastern suburbs and had woken up in Chachoengsao after seeing them defeat Marines Eureka. As is the norm it was a beautiful morning.

After a last bit of sightseeing, I headed to the station for the 10.30am train back towards the capital, grabbing some delicious pork snacks to keep me going. I alighted at Asoke on my return before transferring to the MRT underground service next door at Phetchaburi.

My destination was Bang Sue as I wanted to have a look at the new Grand Station, from which I left a little underwhelmed if truth be known. It was new and clean but lacked any of the beautiful character that Hua Lamphong possessed.

Onwards I walked towards Tao Poon, stopping to grab a khao man ghai, chicken and rice at Lotus's Pracha Chuen food court. It was a short walk to the terminus of the MRT Purple Line on the top floor of the station opened a couple of years earlier.

It was around a thirty-minute ride above ground offering some excellent views as we progressed through Nonthaburi and across the Chao Phraya River. The huge modern floodlights of Nonthaburi Stadium could be seen form quite a distance.

A forty-five-minute casual stroll was taken from alighting at Bang Phlu Junction down the main Bang Kruai-Sai Noi Road, which was lacking a proper footpath in parts. It was good to turn down the less busy but still vibrant DPT Nonthaburi 2025 road. 

It took me past many street food and drink establishments and a very smart condo block before I finally arrived at Nonthaburi Provincial Stadium, a smaller arena being used by locals for exercise and recreation, well in time for the 3.30 kick off.

A walk to the far side and the covered area was required to gain access to the only stand open. Stewards were most rigorous checking bags and Covid certificates to gain entry. My ticket was THB 80 (around £1.80) 

The stadium was like many in the region. A large bowl with a running track with raised steep steps and some seating. Unusually this one had both covered sides with a roof. It was easily up to scratch to stage top flight Thai football.

Nonthaburi looked like a good side after Bangkok had seen an effort ruled out for offside. It was no shock when the hosts took the lead on fourteen minutes through Moussa Anakar after he was set up by Brazilian forward, Carlos Eduardo dos Santos Lima.

 

The visitors put together a good spell, with their forward Moacir, another Brazilian, dispossessing the last United defender before blasting his effort over the bar. I was sat among the Bangkok FC supporters, not through any intention, but I enjoyed their enthusiasm. I also liked their away kit.

I was also enjoying the way referee Dassakhon Hokla who wasn’t being swayed by players falling over far too easily. He let plenty go. Meanwhile, Lima looked the star man for the hosts with his strength and dribbling skills.

Bangkok’s star for me was the classy number 10 Caique Ribeiro, yet another from Brazil! Agents from that part of the world must have doing well. However, his side were finding it difficult to find a way past Nonthaburi’s commanding centre back Zady Moise.

The visitors took the ascendancy from around the half hour mark and probably deserved to go down the tunnel level at the interval. The break gave me a chance to do a lap of the stadium and grab some extra snaps. My hope of a pop-up snack bar was forlorn. 

The quality of referee Hokla came to the fore nine minutes after the restart when he played an excellent advantage after Bangkok’s Thananat Rungrampan clattered Abakar who managed to stay on his feet to tee up Padungsak Phothinak to slot home past keeper Ratchaphon Namthong and double Nonthaburi’s advantage.

The deficit was immediately reduced when Moacir tried to square a ball across the six-yard line. Satja Saengsuwan put out a boot to try and stop it but only managed in deflecting the ball past keeper Nattapon Meesaeng at the near post. 

It was a hot day. I was tired in the stand, so it was inevitable that the game would become stretched. I added to my entertainment by way of Ashes commentary on SEN radio while out on the pitch it became a bit of an arm wrestle with neither side taking command.

Lima dropped back to help his team, but it negated some of their attacking force. Bangkok pushed forward into the fifth minute of stoppage time and got the equaliser their play deserved when Ribeiro’s guile enabled Moacir to score. The away support was delirious.

 

Their team continued to push forward for a winner. A minute later Nonthaburi’s sub Dolvich Thanomnoom, who’d only been on the pitch for eight minutes received a straight red for an over the top challenge.

It was a good game which was easy on the eye containing a bit of everything. Bangkok’s French coach Sebastien Neumann would have probably been happier than his counterpart Abdoul Coulibaly.

 

No way was I walking back to the station. I let a taxi take the strain before returning via the Purple and then Blue line to Lat Phrao where the number 96 bus took me on a longer than intended route home. At least I was getting the hang of public transport.

Grakcu Sai Mai United

Grakcu Sai Mai United FC is a semi professional football club based in the northern Sai Mai district of the Thai capital of Bangkok. The club has gone through several name changes since their formation in 2009 before taking their present title in 2018.

The club have had a busy history since being formed as Rose Asia Pathum Thani FC when they played their home games at Chalerm Prakiat Klong 6 Stadium and joined the newly formed Regional League Central East Division. 

Their inaugural season was a disaster as they finished bottom of the table and winning only one game as well as going out in the qualifying round of the FA Cup.

In 2010 the club were re-located to the Bangkok Area division of the Regional League, but once again they finished bottom of the pile. For the 2011 season they changed their name to Thanyaburi Rose Asia United. 

Another name change came in 2011 as Thanyaburi United was adopted following the purchase of the club by a Korean national.

In 2013 the club changed title to Grakcu Looktapfah Pathumthani FC when they became the feeder side to Air Force United FC, playing their home games at the Tupatemee Stadium and finishing in third place.

Me in my Looktabfah shirt outside the Grand Palace in 2013

A couple of mid table finishes ensued in 2014 and 2015 before they were moved into the Bangkok Region; where they weighed in with a fifth place as Kwabena Boateng topped the scoring chart.

The Thai League system was restructured for 2017 with Grakcu being placed in Thai League 4 Bangkok Region; finishing one place away from the bottom of the table. The name change to Grakcu Sai Mai United paid dividends for the 2018 season in their new Grakcu United Stadium in Sai Mai.

The team ended in third place and qualified for the Champions League promotion play-offs where a win against Pattani meant that United qualified for the group stage, where any hopes of going up were extinguished.

The top scorer has been Krittanon Thanachotjaroenphon before Basam Radwan Mahmoud Mohamed Afify took over the mantle in the 2019 season as the side finished in sixth position. The Thai national football system was changed for the 2020-21 season as it moved to a European calendar. 

The fourth tier was dispensed of as Grakcu were placed in League 3 Bangkok Perimeter, where they finished in ninth position with Ghanian Emmanuel Kwame Akadom striker leading the scoring charts.

The 2021-22 campaign saw United, coached by Tewesh Kamonsin, end bottom of the table awaiting their fate regarding the structure of the league system for 2022-23. As it transpired the adult side was superseded by the academy although there was little trace online of that by 2024.

My visits

Grakcu Looktapfah Pathumthani 1 Futera Seeker 1 (Wednesday 27th March 2013) Thai Regional League Central West Region (att: c200)

I was in Bangkok with a spare day before my friends arrived ahead of the Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes, and I'd put it aside for my favourite hobby.

I'd already visited several stadiums for photos and to broaden my knowledge before arriving at Tupatemee Stadium well in time for the 5pm kick-off. As with most lower league matches I'd seen in the country. 

The car park outside had quite a few fans gathering to use the catering facilities and to look inside the club shop. A gent was making announcements to those outside, and he shook my hand as he saw a curious visitor trying to take it all in.

The fixture intrigued me. I could only realistically stay for the first half as my main event of the evening was the Premier League clash between Police United and Suphanburi, but I wanted to catch as much as I could at the first game because the visitors had one amazing story to tell.

Futera Seeker, owned by Futera the card trading company, had gained a place in the Thai Regional League for the start of the 2013 season after trialling their project on a team in a London league. They became the first professional football club to be interactively managed live by an international Online Community. I wanted to find out more.

As I stood outside the Main Stand with a drink I met Mark Watson, one of Futera's project managers. After a brief chat he invited me into the press area once the game was under way. 

By now several members of the Air Force had marched by and were now going through regimented chants inside the stand. I paid my 50 Baht, had my hand stamped and went inside to take my seat in the only covered area of the arena.

For a full description of Tupatemee Stadium and more photos, please click here to go to the Air Force United page. After the usual shaking of hands and the national anthem, the game kicked off a few minutes late, which I found to be the norm in The Land of Smiles. 

The servicemen continued to chant, with a leader taking them through songs, while the vocalists read from the song sheets. The temperature was in the late thirties and the pitch appeared bobbly, so I didn't expect a classic.

Either side had an African import in their starting elevens, and it was Tapfah's number five who wasted the best early chance when he volleyed over from a corner. A poor back pass let in the Seeker centre forward, but the home keeper got his team mate out of strife with a fine save. The same forward, who looked about the best on show, had a good run and shot, which went just wide.

I laughed as a local slugged away on his whisky, while his wife looked on at the action. Tapfah almost took the lead, but their number thirteen hit the outside of the post from a narrow angle. I decided to take up Mark's offer with around half an hour on the clock.

I saw the Seeker operation played out in front of my eyes. I must admit that I had to rub them in case I was seeing things. A cameraman was filming the game live so that all subscribers around the world could watch, while commentary was offered in Thai and English. 

To think someone sat in his bedroom on a Wednesday morning in England could determine what was about to happen was frightening. Not least the potential betting implications.

Mark was on his laptop taking in the suggestions from the subscribers who could vote on such things as tactics, formation, playing style, substitutions and other decisions, with their instructions being passed to the players on the pitch.

As the game played out the instructions were fed out via a walkie talkie and an interpreter who passed on the info to the Thai coach. I was absolutely staggered.

Apparently, the coach was happy with the situation and up to four hundred subscribers were enjoying the experience. In fairness, the team were playing quite well on the pitch; but it looked like a nightmare waiting to happen to me.

At half-time, I sped across the car park and was soon in a taxi heading to the Thammasat University Stadium for the evening's entertainment.

To see my amateur video of the occasion, click here.

Grakcu Sai Mai United 1 Nonthaburi United S Boonmeerit 2 (Wednesday 22nd December 2021) Thai League 3 Bangkok Perimeter (att: c50)

A chance to visit Grakcu in their new home and guise occurred a few weeks after I had relocated to the Bangkok district of Minburi. I was already getting out and about watching football after making valuable contacts.

This Wednesday afternoon fixture fitted in perfectly. I needed to extend my 30-day tourist visa by a month at the same side of the city. I eventually found the huge Immigration centre at Chaeng Wattana, only after a bit of communication to be redirected to a temporary office next to the Thunderdome home of Muang Thong United.

 

I’d had a hassle with my bank back home stopping payments on my card and then arrived at the Muang Thong Thani office just as they were adjourning for an hour lunch break, a reminder of how things used to work in simpler more civilised times in the UK.

I made sure I was first in the queue upon resumption and felt confident I’d make it all the way to the match by public transport. My naivety and lack of local pronunciation was to put pay to that. A taxi driver took up the strain with the aid of my Google Maps App. The ground really would be difficult to find without the App.

It’s in a narrow road community a couple of miles from the nearest main road. However, the ride only cost the equivalent of a couple of quid, and I arrived ten minutes before kick-off. All good. There was even time to pop into the convenience store across the road from the ground for provisions before paying my THB50 admission and taking a few snaps.

Grackcu United Stadium was no thing of beauty, but it was homely. I’m not sure the floodlights were up to scratch for League 3 football. I guess they’re not alone in that department and that’s why games generally kick off in the afternoon. 

There were two little covered enclosures down the side flanking a double-decker building with facilities for players, officials and media. A high net surrounded the pitch. There wasn’t really anything else in the way of spectator accommodation, save for a little structure of open bleachers.

I took up my place at the back of one of the covered areas with a steep rake for sitting where I met an Irish fella from Dublin called Adam who enjoyed this division’s football for its affordability and entertainment. We had a good chat throughout the game.

 

He too was trying to live like a local to integrate and save money. It certainly beat a shift on the tube as far as I was concerned. He was a proper connoisseur of this division and he recognised me from the previous Sunday’s game at Nonthaburi.

Adam encouraged me to buy a moped to get to games. Those who know my clumsiness would readily disagree unless they were connoisseurs of dark comedy. His knowledge of the finer points of the game was impressive, whereas I go more for light entertainment.

 

Out on the pitch we were treated to a reasonable game, at least in my eyes. My new friend did not rate the visitors head coach Abdoul Coulibaly who he said didn’t coach at all. I must admit that he was found wanting in his previous game when Nonthaburi gave up a two-goal lead.

A change from Nonthaburi’s previous game was that their Brazilian star Lima played a little deeper. It paid good effect as he set up Moussa Abakar to score on sixteen and thirty-four minutes to put his side 2-0 up. 

The visitors were missing their commanding centre back Sajja Sangsuwan from a few days earlier. It would nearly cost them their advantage for the second game running. His replacement Wakhim Churat was ponderous with the Grakcu players quickly working him out.

They fought their way back into the encounter, cheered on by a gaggle of locals drinking beer under a canopy beyond the netting behind the goal. A couple of efforts came close, while their defence caught the away side offside on several occasions.

Grakcu reduced the arrears five minutes before the break, through Sattanan Pomsaard after keeper Nattapon Meesaeng had saved an initial shot. The pressure continued, and one can imagine the halftime whistle came as a bit of a relief to the Nonthaburi contingent.

The hosts continued to look for an equaliser after the resumption. For a time it looked like coming but Nonthaburi held firm for whom Padungsak Phothinak had a fine game. Woraphot Somsang hit the post as they looked to extend their lead.

We agreed in the stand that it should have been 3-1 when Jetsada Batchari had a goal chalked out for offside. It appeared a poor decision. As it happens his side deservedly saw out the game to take all three points.

Adam said goodbye and headed off on his scooter. I had my own plans after paying attention on my journey to the game. I waited at the top of the lane on the now vibrant road, where before long a songthaew turned up. 

While I wasn’t sure exactly where it was going, I knew it was in the right direction for the main road and buses. A local seeing me appearing to be confused came out with the re-assuring “to BTS”.

A kind lady helped me, pointing out BTS when we neared Saphan Mai station. Now I knew how everything worked I wouldn’t mind repeating the journey. It’s strange how much different and easier things are in real life rather than looking at a map! 

The Green Line extension was free at the time to encourage new passengers to try it, which was a bonus. What with the 26 bus home from Wat Phra Sri Mahathat, my return journey cost just THB29. A grand and cheap day out. Just the sort I enjoy!