Champs Leicester touch down in Thailand
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Thai fans were impressed by humility of visiting Leicester City players who arrived in the country yesterday to celebrate their promotion back to the English Premier League after 10 years.
The fortunes of the Midlands club, which dropped out of the English topflight in 2004, have improved since its takeover four years ago by a Thai-led consortium, Asian Football Investment, fronted by King Power Group’s Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
Thai leadership eventually culminated in Leicester winning the second-tier Championship title, which carries automatic promotion to arguably the world’s most lucrative football league.
Leicester City’s travelling party featuring all members of the club’s first-team squad touched down at Suvarnabhumi Airport at dawn, with dozens of flag-waving fans greeting the Foxes. Among those stepping off the plane was former Manchester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, son of Manchester United legend Peter.
Sporting casual dress, Leicester players showed no sign of fatigue from their long-haul flight as they exchanged greetings and gave autographs before departing to check in at the Pullman King Power hotel.
The scene was a sharp contrast to the visits of other famous English clubs such as Manchester United, whose stars Thai fans barely got a glimpse of due to tight security measures.
Championship-winning Leicester will fly to Phuket today for a three-day stay on the resort island before returning to the capital on Monday to attend a conference at the Pullman and visit riverside shopping complex the Asiatique. They fly home on May 14.
