Yala City FC is a professional football club formed in 2023 that is based in the city of the same name in the south of Thailand. Their arrival on the scene could not have been better timed as they were accepted into the 2023-24 Thai Semi-pro League.
The ‘Potentate of Killer Roosters’, to give them their nickname, got lucky as they and Phuket Rajabhat University were the only two entrants into the Southern Zone competition, meaning the sides played each other four times to see who would be promoted to Thai League 3 South.
Adilif Chesor scored three times in the matches for the side coached by Ibrohim Kasirak who played their home games at the Stadium of Thailand National Sports University, Yala Campus as they went up to join neighbours FC Yala.
As City were soon to find out, life was tougher in the higher echelons coming up against clubs and players of experience. Samart Chankachang took over as head coach while crowds were extremely encouraging for a new club in the league.
In November 2024 the club switched venues to share Rajabhat University Stadium with FC Yala, before returning to their original venue the following February. The side was involved in a relegation battle in their debut season, trying desperately to retain their status.
My visit
Saturday 4th January 2025
The tour embarked upon by my wife and her relatives from Hat Yai in the south had reached the Malaysian border at Betong, which proved to be a very enjoyable place to spend an evening.
On our way back, Q, Taew’s cousin, had said that he would take me to the stadium in Yala after visiting Jaru Stadium the previous day. Sure enough, after collecting a sweet order from a shop in the city with a reputation for making unique items, we cut back towards the university area.
I’d have been happy with parking at the back of the Rajabhat Stadium and maybe got a glimpse of the Stadium of Thailand National Sports University located over the road, but my driver was having none of it.
We entered the car park, where many were keeping fit and running around the track. The stadium was no thing of beauty, but perfectly adequate for Thai League 3 football, with a raised stand complete with a roof on one side and an open raised enclosure opposite.
Once I had got my snaps, we went round to the home of
FC Yala before heading back to Hat Yai for food and then Q and I headed
downtown in Hat Yai, my host ever eager to impress me.
