Football club
Active departments of
Port Authority of Thailand
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Football
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Football B
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Futsal
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Port Football Club
(
Thai
:
?????????????????????
), formerly known as
Port Authority of Thailand F.C.
, is a Thai professional
football
club based in
Khlong Toei district
of central
Bangkok
. They compete in the
Thai League 1
and are one of the most successful clubs in
Thai football
, having won the
Kor Royal Cup
8 times and the
Queen's Cup
6 times. In 2009 Thai Port added the
Thai FA Cup
to their list of honours. In 2010, the club was triumphant again as they won the newly introduced
Thai League Cup
.
History
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]
1967?1968: Foundation
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]
Founded in 1967 as Port Authority of Thailand Football Club by Major Prachuap Suntranakul, who was the director of Port Authority of Thailand at the time. He took on the role of chairman of Port Authority of Thailand F.C and was instrumental in helping the club during its initial years.
1968?1980: Golden age
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In 1968 Port Authority of Thailand F.C. were crowned
Kor Royal Cup
winners, which sparked the most successful era in the club's history as they went on to win six Kor Royal Cup titles between 1968 and 1979. Port also had plenty of success in the
Queen's Cup
, winning it 4 times in succession from 1977 to 1980. Following the 1980 Queen's Cup win, Port Authority of Thailand F.C. won four trophies in 13 years.
2009?2010: Development of club's name and FA Cup Title
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]
At the start of the 2009 Thailand Premier League season, the club changed its name from Port Authority of Thailand F.C. to Thai Port F.C., The name change was introduced to be in line with the new Football Association of Thailand regulations that meant all teams in the top flight must be registered as limited companies.
Lineups of the
2009 Thai FA Cup Final
between Port and
BEC Tero Sasana
[1]
In the same year, Thai Port F.C. ended a 16-year wait for a trophy when they were victorious in the 2009 Thai FA Cup Final. Thai Port F.C. opponents on the day at
Suphachalasai Stadium
were
BEC Tero
. The match finished 1?1 after extra time, with Thai Port F.C. winning the penalty shoot out 5?4.
Pipat Thonkanya
scored the decisive spot kick after Port keeper Pattarakorn had saved BEC Tero's fifth penalty.
[2]
2011?2015: Darkest period
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]
The Port Authority of Thailand has been granted the rights to operate the Thai Port F.C. in the Thai Premier League.
The Football Association of Thailand or the FAT and the Thai Premier League ruled on the legal dispute between the Port Authority of Thailand and the Thai Port F.C. Company, over the operating rights of the Thai Premier League's Thai Port F.C.
According to the ruling, the Port Authority of Thailand, the club's original owner, has been granted operating rights of the team for the 2011?12 Thai Premier League season.
The FAT claimed its decision is based on the fact that the club's ownership was never officially signed over to the Thai Port FC Company.
Meanwhile, President of Thai Port F.C. Company, Pichet Munkong, threatened to file a civil lawsuit in the court of law, citing Thai Premier League regulations which says that a state-enterprise such as the Port Authority of Thailand, is prohibited from operating a football club.
Pichet is planning to sue the FAT, the Thai Premier League, and the Asian Football Confederation.
However, Thai Port F.C. will only be permitted to compete in the upcoming season of the country's top flight league, set to begin on February 12, once its operator is registered as a for-profit corporation.
It remains unclear how the Port Authority of Thailand is planning to proceed with this matter.
[3]
The ongoing boardroom disputes finally took their toll as Thai Port dropped to Division 1 for the first time in 2012. Investment in the team wasn't forthcoming as several departing players were replaced with lower quality ones. Thai Port failed to find the back of the net in almost half of their league games and were relegated on the penultimate round of fixtures when they lost 2?1 at home to Muang Thong United.
2015?present: Madam Pang's takeover
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Nualphan Lamsam
chairperson of Port from 2015 to 2023
Port FC before the
Thai FA Cup
final 2019
In 2015, the club was taken over by
Nualphan Lamsam
, Thai business woman, by signing the Memorandum of Understanding of a 5-year contract with
Port Authority of Thailand
to control the club's management.
[4]
Nualphan, commonly known to locals as ‘Madam Pang’ the majority shareholder of Muang Thai Life Insurance and the Assistant Secretary General of the Democratic Party, which has held power over Bangkok for over a decade.
Since Port F.C. Co took over the management of the club in 2015 by Nualphan, the team's results have improved.
In 2017, Port returned to
Thai League 1
, Nualphan Lamsam announced the appointment of
Kiatisuk Senamuang
as the new head coach of the club; Kiatisuk was manager of the
Thailand national football team
2014?2017.
[6]
Kiatisuk resigned as coach of Port after just three months in charge, managing just one win, six losses and three draws during his time with the club.
[7]
In 2018, ‘Madam Pang’ loosened the purse-strings significantly in the transfer window, making a clear statement to the rest of the division. Arrivals such as winger
Nurul Sriyankem
from
Chonburi
, left-back
Kevin Deeromram
from
Ratchaburi Mitr Phol
, and most significantly, forward
Dragan Bo?kovi?
from
Bangkok United
.
The club finished third in the
2018 Thai League 1
season and created history by claiming 61 points ? the club's highest points in a single season
[8]
under
Jadet Meelarp
manager.
Expected to be one of the contenders for the
2019 Thai League 1
title, Port F.C. looked on course for a successful campaign until June, when a poor run of form led to the sacking of
Jadet Meelarp
.
[10]
The club subsequently appointed national team assistant
Choketawee Promrut
as head coach and former
Manchester City
defender
Spencer Prior
as technical director, sparking a reversal of the team's form as they won five of their next six games.
[11]
They also qualified for the
2019 Thai FA Cup
Final for the first time in a decade.
[12]
Port won the Thai FA Cup 2019 title after defeating
Ratchaburi Mitr Phol
1-0 in the final held at the
Leo Stadium
, Midfielder
Sergio Suarez
scored the only goal of the game in the third minute of the second half to give Port their second Thai FA Cup title in front of FIFA president
Gianni Infantino
who was among those in attendance. All eyes were on the
Video Assistant Referee
(VAR) technology which was employed by the Football Association of Thailand for the cup final.
[13]
Supporters
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Season
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Total attn.
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2014
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3,517
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66,834
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2015
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4,044
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68,763
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2016
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3,043
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42,609
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2017
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4,210
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67,361
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2018
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3,987
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67,790
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2019
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5,087
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76,312
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As of 8 November 2019
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
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Supporters of Thai Port are often referred to as the
Khlong Toei Army
. The name
Khlong Toei Army
refers to
Khlong Toei District
, the location of the club. "Nakrob Sad Nam-ngurn" refers to Orange-red Blue Warrior, the Thai Port's shirt colours.
The supporters of Thai Port and
Chonburi
have forged a very close friendship. Many supporters of Thai Port went to the FA Cup final in 2010 wearing Thai Port colors to cheer for Chonburi against
Muangthong United
. Likewise plenty of kitted-out Chonburi fans came to support Thai Port in their 2010 League Cup Final against
Buriram PEA
The club also attracts a large number of “
Farang
” (foreign) supporters, probably the largest foreign matchday following of any club in Thailand. Foreign fans are attracted due to the club's central location and proximity to the
MRT
rail network.
[19]
Academy development
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In 2015, Port opened its first youth academies, under a collaboration agreement with Pathum Khongkha school,
[20]
U-14, U-16 and U-18 teams play in
Thailand Youth League
.
[21]
An Under 14 team won 2019
Paris Saint-Germain
Cup U-14.
[22]
The 2013 season kits was made by
Grand Sport
and sponsored by Singha Drinking Water and Port Authority of Thailand.
The 2019 season kits are made by
Grand Sport
and sponsored by Muang Thai Insurance and Leo and Air Asia and Systema and TQM Insurance Brokers and Port Authority of Thailand.
The 2021 season,
Ari
is new sponsors of club.
Stadium
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PAT Stadium
Port moved into the
PAT Stadium
in
Khlong Toei district
,
Bangkok
in 2009 which proved to be a very popular move with local supporters. Attendances rose sharply over the year and the club decided to build two new stands to increase the capacity from 6,000 to 7,000.
[2]
Match tickets cost 100?120 baht and are bought from a small ticket office next to the stadium.
The club has a souvenir shop which is located in the Stadium grounds. The shop stocks replica shirts, scarves and other merchandise.
Stadium and locations by season records
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Season record
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- P = Played
- W = Games won
- D = Games drawn
- L = Games lost
- F = Goals for
- A = Goals against
- Pts = Points
- Pos = Final position
- N/A = No answer
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- PR = Preliminary Round
- QR1 = First Qualifying Round
- QR2 = Second Qualifying Round
- QR3 = Third Qualifying Round
- QR4 = Fourth Qualifying Round
- RInt = Intermediate Round
- R1 = Round 1
- R2 = Round 2
- R3 = Round 3
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- R4 = Round 4
- R5 = Round 5
- R6 = Round 6
- GR = Group stage
- QF = Quarter-finals
- SF = Semi-finals
- RU = Runners-up
- S = Shared
- W = Winners
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Continental record
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Players
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Current squad
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under
FIFA eligibility rules
. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
[
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under
FIFA eligibility rules
. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Former players
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For details on former players, see
Category:Port F.C. players
.
Managerial history
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Managers/head coaches by year (1996?present)
Honours
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National
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International
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References
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External links
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Home stadium
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Tragedies
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Seasons
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Related articles
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Former clubs
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Dissolved clubs
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Seasons
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