Top-tier football and huge crowds were once the thing in Songkhla. Affected by alien ownership and having to start afresh, the club now look to reach its former heights.
A Potted History of Songkhla FC
Songkhla FC
is a professional football club whose history can be traced back to 1999,
when they played in the Thailand Provincial League, a competition for clubs outside Bangkok competing in the Thai Premier League.
Tinsulanonda
Stadium was used for home matches until 2005. The club was suspended for failing to meet the regulations. They returned to the Provincial
League 2 the following year, finishing runners-up in the higher division of the competition in 2007.
Promotion to the Second Tier
Songkhla
went up and finished second in
2008, with a season of two being spent playing at Chiranakhon Stadium in Hat Yai. The side consolidated their position as Witthawat Iamram.
Worawet
Chanuthai and then Chayene Santos scored the goals as the club pushed for promotion while based at Na Thawi District
Stadium. They returned to Tinsulanonda Stadium with huge crowds attending games. However, things were to go downhill.
Buriram Takeover
Buriram FC, formed by Karuna Chidchob, won a couple of promotions to reach the highest level of Thai football in 2011.
The club was bought by the husband of the president, Newin Chidchob, who had
already relocated PEA from Ayutthaya to become PEA Buriram, later Buriram United.
The rights of Buriram FC were sold to Songkhla FC, meaning there was a southern
team at the top tier. It also meant two Buriram-controlled clubs. The club in the south was named Wuachon
United FC in 2012. The original Songkhla FC was dissolved to join the new
club, which was renamed Songkhla United.
The club had attracted a crowd of 30,102 for the top-flight clash with
Muangthong United as Jadet Meelarp led the team from the bench. Meanwhile, goals from
Kirati Keawsombat and then Manop Sornkaew kept Songkhla United
safe.
End of the Era
Franz
Schwarzwälder had a spell as coach before the team went down a level at the end of the 2014 season, despite the goals of Kayne Vincent. The side was managed throughout the season by Phayong
Khunnaen and then Jason Withe.
Somchai
Makmool took over team affairs in 2015 as Rufino Sánchez top-scored. Willen Mota was a scoring sensation in 2016 for the
side coached by Nopporn Eksatra. They reached the semifinals of the League
Cup, going out on aggregate to Buriram United.
A New Start
The
following season proved to be United’s last. Giorgi Tsimakuridze scored the
goals as the team ended up in a relegation place for Watchara Tochanakan’s team
while playing at Na Thawi District Stadium. Not that it mattered because the
club failed the criteria for a license and was banned for two seasons.
Songkhla FC was born in 2018, starting initially in the
Thailand Amateur League, playing at Prince of Songkhla University Stadium. In their second season, they finished as champions to win promotion to Thai League 3 South for the 2020-21 season.
Back at Tinsulanonda Stadium, the goals of
Abdussalam Saman took the Samila Mermaids to the title under the stewardship of Akaporn Chalitaporn. Their playoff campaign ended in failure before Daiki Higuchi was given the role of
head coach.
Natan Oliveira was next to put away the chances,
before another regional was won in 2022-23 as Jardel topped the scoring charts
for the side led by Sarawut Treephan. Again, Songkhla fell short in the playoffs.
The Thai League 3 South title was retained, this time under returning
Japanese coach Higuchi, thanks in part to the efforts of Nigerian forward Ekene
Victor Azike. Once again, the playoffs ended in disappointment.
The 2024-25 campaign saw Songkhla win promotion via the playoffs after defeating North Bangkok University, ending as national runners-up to Rasisalai United. Thitisak Karunkron was appointed as head coach towards the end of the following season, as the team consolidated.
My visit
Songkhla 1
Kasem Bundit University 0
Sunday 5th January 2025
Thai League 3 Cup Round of
16
👨👨👧👧345 🎟️120 THB (£2.75)
Tour Opportunity
The long tour I was on provided immense fun, travelling with my wife Taew, along
with her cousin Q and his family. I’d visited football stadiums in cities that
I had never visited before and may not have the opportunity to again. However,
the announcement of this fixture made me extremely happy.
Not that I
was the biggest fan of the Thai League 3 Cup, which drew some derisory attendances. I
mean, who would expect a team from Bangkok to travel to Songkhla, a journey
going on for fourteen hours for a third-tier cup game on a Sunday night? However, it
seemed second nature to organise such games in Thailand.
Solo Day Out
Tinsulanonda Stadium was very high on my bucket list, so I agreed that I
would be happy to do anything the rest of our group wanted if I was released
for football on Sunday lunchtime. With everything in place, I was deposited at
Central in Hat Yai to use the bank and grab some food before walking to the bus
terminal.
The driver
of our minivan would certainly not be getting a gig at the Comedy Store anytime
soon. He displayed a Phatthalung FC scarf above him and drove like the
clappers. I wasn’t too upset to get out and start my mini tour of Songkhla's
old town, arriving far too early, if truth be told.
Discovering Songkhla's Old Town
I visited an
art gallery and wandered through the many narrow lanes, seeing some lovely old
architecture and street art with many others doing the same thing. If it was a
coffee shop someone wanted, they were in the right city, with lots of them,
many extremely trendy offering refreshments.
The old rice
mill by the lake was being put forward as a World Heritage site, while a small
bus took tourists around. I visited the Songkhla National Museum and the city
wall, with every local I met being extremely friendly and helpful, something
I’d experienced a few days earlier when we visited other local places.
Street Art in Songkhla
Pre-Match
I headed to the stadium to take photos with time to kill in case
access was restricted when spectators arrived for the match. The smiling security guard
waved me in as I went into the various stands, with the preparations beginning, and the home side arrived at the stadium by coach.
On my way, I'd walked along Si Suda Alley, which had several bars opening later, along with the Irish Buzz Stop Restaurant and Bar, which was already serving a couple
of customers. I was to regret returning there and maybe have a meal.
One Thai
lady was doing her best to serve a large group of English fellas, who were around 30-years-old. While not causing any problem, they were loud,
obviously enjoying themselves, ordering food and lots of drinks. It was
clear that I would have waited a long time if I ordered a meal.
Nothing on the menu particularly jumped out at me, so I decided
I’d leave them to their fun and have a drink somewhere a bit quieter. Because they considered that I had been unsociable, they called me names, which saddened me, but these things happen.
I mulled over the irony of
having a trouble-free tour, including visiting places threatened by terrorism,
but then having issues with fellow Englishmen. Instead, had a couple of cold
beers watching the world go by and trying to cheer myself up at The Corner Bier
before heading back to the stadium, again rather early.
Refreshments
were confined to a stall once inside the stadium complex before entering the
arena. There was no beer for sale. The souvenir stand consisted of a small rack
and table, which also sold match tickets. It was all extremely low-key and a bit
disappointing.
I chose a
VIP seat for 120 Baht, again feeling disappointed when it turned out to be
downstairs in the main stand rather than the upper tier. The stadium PA played
very melodic local acoustic tunes as the teams warmed up before they returned
for the match, which I enjoyed.
I thought that a 6 pm kick-off when Thailand were playing
Vietnam in the second leg of the ASEAN Cup final on live TV at 8pm might have been a mistake. Surely, an
earlier start at Songkhla would have attracted more fans who could then get
home to watch the national side.
A Tight Encounter
The game was
closely fought in the first half. Thomas Chinonso, the Nigerian Kasem Bundit
striker, was pacy and caused the host defence some problems, breaking away and
seeing his shot go narrowly over the bar, while Songkhla seemed more methodical
but slower in their build-up.
I was
surprised to see Jhonatan Bernardo in the lineup for the home side, who led
their league table. I had watched him for Udon United at the start of the
season, and I hadn't been impressed. My thoughts were confirmed
after watching him again.
Ridwan
Ruangchuai was one of the midfielders who impressed me for Songkhla, but I thought that he was
lucky to remain on the pitch after he committed a foul. He was the last man, bringing down
Chinonso on the edge of the box when her was through.
Referee Pissanusak
Sriyai decided the challenge only merited a yellow card. The striker received
lengthy treatment in what would be the game-changing moment. Abdulhafis Nibu, Thiraphong
Yangdi, and Anwa A-Leemama also impressed me for the home team.
It was the
latter who was denied just before the interval through a flying save from Chanon
Aunjaidee in the student’s net. At the break, I decided to move seats so that I could get away easily from an exit to meet my family. The view
was far better high up on the open side.
Chinonso
wasn’t the same after his injury, hobbling off five minutes into the second
half, while his assailant remained on the pitch, having done his job. Ten minutes later, the only
goal of the game arrived from Anwa. It meant that it was pretty much game over. The
hosts came close to doubling their lead a couple of times, with the threat of
KBU extinguished.
Should the
game have gone into extra time, it would have done so without me in attendance.
As the final whistle sounded, I was on my way to dinner at Son Kaew Seafood
Restaurant. A pleasant meal was enjoyed before Q gave us a nighttime tour of
the old town.
We wanted to
be back in Hat Yai for a night of sleep, as the following day would see Taew
head off and make our way without our hosts, catching the bus to Krabi to enjoy
many further adventures. It was only then that she revealed that her cousin’s wife
was worried about me going to football alone. If only she knew.
My YouTube Channel contains numerous homemade Thai football videos, as well as a wide range of content covering all aspects of life in the Land of Smiles, including the one in which we visited the Southern Region.
Those of you who have enjoyed reading this article may wish to get hold of a copy of my book, which covers the adventure, along with dealing with the language barrier and understanding Thai culture. It is available in paperback and on Kindle.
