Army United Football Club (Thai: สโมสรฟุตบอลอาร์มี่ ยูไนเต็ด) was a Thai professional football club under the stewardship of the Royal Thai Army based in the Din Daeng District of Bangkok. It was one of the oldest football clubs in Asia, until it was discontinued at the end of the 2019 season after 103 years in existence.
The club was founded in 1916 and was known as Royal Thai Army until November 2010. Their home stadium was known locally as the Thai Army Sports Stadium and was more widely known around Asian circles as the Royal Thai Army Stadium, which had been host to numerous international youth matches due to its central Bangkok location. The club played in red shirts with red shorts and red socks. Despite finishing bottom of the Thai Premier League in 2010, they managed to regain their top-flight status after winning Group B of the Thai League Play-off in 2011.
History
Army United represented the Royal Thai Army and had traditionally been Thailand's yo-yo club along with the Navy and Police clubs. Up until 2010, and the name change from the Royal Thai Army to Army United, the club lacked support and had dwindling crowds, and were mainly supported by Army personnel shipped in for the games.
The Army team had always been a mid ranking Thai team with their biggest successes coming in the Thai Division 1 League with a championship in the 2004–05 season and 2nd place in 2009. Both of these successes had of course come after relegation from the Thai Premier League.
The club were based in the Din Daeng District of Central Bangkok, which is the area that bases the Royal Thai Army. Up until the 2011 season, the club operated a policy of only playing homegrown talent, but ditched this as the game became more professional and foreign players were brought into the team. Previously, the players would work for the Army during the week and play football on weekends, somewhat different from most clubs who operated on a full-time basis.
In the 2010 season, they were reprieved from relegation after an end of season relegation/playoff system was announced to expand the Thai Premier League, and thus escaped relegation despite finishing 16th.
In 2011, rebranded Army United signed five Brazilians and surprised all expectations as they topped the TPL in the early weeks of the season, with Leandro Dos Santos scoring regularly. Crowds rose from a few hundred to a season average of 5,580. However, the early season form petered out and Army finished in 13th position.
Army United logo in 100th anniversary of the founding
In 2012, most of the Brazilians had moved on but were replaced with other highly rated foreign stars. Daniel Blanco was the most impressive performer as Army flirted with the Top 6 for long periods before eventually finishing in 10th position.
The 2012 season also coincided with Army reaching the 2012 Thai FA Cup final. On the way to the final, Army was given a reprieve after they lost a penalty shoot-out to regional league side Trat. It turned out that Trat had fielded an unregistered player and was booted out of the cup with Army reinstated. Army United then defeated runaway TPL leaders Muangthong United on the way to the final. However, Army lost the final 2–1 to Buriram United.[1]
In 2013, the club signed a strategic partnership deal with Thai-owned English club Leicester City.[2]
In 2019, Army United decided to dissolve the club, ending the history of the club after 103 years.[3][4][5][6]
Stadium
Royal Thai Army Stadium
Thai Army Sports Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road in the Din Daeng District of north Bangkok, Thailand. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Army United F.C.[7] The stadium holds 20,000 and has a single stand with covered seating on one side and terracing on three sides. An athletics track surrounds the pitch. It is often used by Thai club sides in international football competitions and was used by Bangkok University in the 2007 AFC Champions League and Osotsapa in the 2007 AFC Cup. Additionally, it has been used for matches involving national sides in international tournaments hosted by Thailand where the hosts are not involved.
^King, Ian; Schöggl, Hans & Stokkermans, Karel (20 March 2014). "Thailand – List of Champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014. Select link to season required from chronological list.
