Leicester, Everton to play pre-season friendly in Bangkok
Two English Premier League clubs with Thai connections will play a pre-season friendly in Bangkok next month.
Thai-owned Leicester will play at Supachalasai Stadium against Roberto Martinez’s Everton, who have sported the Chang logo on their shirts for the past decade, on July 27 as part of their pre-season training.
The game in Thai capital will also mark the 25th anniversary of King Power, which bought the East Midlands club in 2010. It will be Leicester’s second pre-season visit to Thailand in four years, after a 2-1 win against the Thai national team on their last trip.
Leicester City players also visited the country last month to celebrate their return to the English top tier after a decade. The team’s vice chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha expressed his delight at bringing the Foxes back to the country and welcomed the opportunity to meet another English side with deep-rooted connections to Thailand.
“It will be with great pride that we bring our Championship-winning Leicester City squad back to Thailand for a match between two Premier League clubs that I am certain will capture the imagination of our football-loving nation.
“Our players received a heroes’ welcome during the trip to Thailand to celebrate our title-winning season and those fans will be very excited to see the team’s preparations for the new season in the Premier League.
“It will also be a great honour to welcome a club with the history and tradition of Everton FC – another team in the UK with strong links to Thailand and an opponent with several star names that should contribute to a memorable occasion.”
Leicester players, though, face a hectic pre-season schedule. They will depart from the UK just hours after the opening friendly at Ilkeston FC on July 22 and return two days before playing another away fixture at Walsall on July 30.
