Chelsea to celebrate title success with the most passionate fans in the world
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Newly-crowned English Premier League champions Chelsea selected Thailand as the first country to visit on their post-season tour as they want to celebrate their first title in five years with Thai fans they hailed as the most "passionate" in the world.
The Londoners made sure of their EPL triumph with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge stadium last weekend to add to the League Cup trophy they won earlier. They will fly to Bangkok with the two titles for the “Singha Chelsea FC Celebration Match” against Thailand All-Stars team on May 30 at Rajamangala National stadium.
The game marks the third visit to the country in five years for Chelsea and the second time in three years that Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho would lead his players to Thailand after making his first trip to Bangkok in 2013.
“We’re coming to see you again in Bangkok at the end of the season. We’re all very excited to see our fans in Thailand and play in front of them again,” the Portuguese manager said in pre-recorded interview.
Adrian New, Chelsea’s Asia-Pacific managing director and the club’s representative, said the close relationship the club has forged through its sponsorship with Singha Corporation and the passion of local fans were the two main factors they decided to visit Thailand first.
“Singha really make Chelsea feel as part of their family during the relationship that we have with them. It’s a delight for the club to come back year after year. We were here in 2011, 2013 and here we are again.
“Without Singha, it [the game] simply would not happen so our fans owe a huge gratitude to Singha,” New said of the company that has enjoyed the partnership with the club since 2009.
“The second reason why we’re sitting here is the fans, probably the most passionate fanbase that we have anywhere in the world.
“Every time we are here in Bangkok, our fans turn up to support us. Every time we play here, it’s a sell-out stadium. So, the fans here are really special and that helped us choose Thailand as the first place to play as the English champions,” said New.
With the game being organised to celebrate His Majesty the King’s 88th birthday and Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s 60th birthday, New said Chelsea were delighted to be at the time of great celebration in the country.
Piti Bhirombhakdi, the Singha Corporation director, said Thai fans could look forward to something new with the visit of Chelsea this time since they make post-season “celebration” trip unlike the pre-season tour in the past.
“They [Chelsea] gave Thai fans a real honour by choosing the country to celebrate the English Premier League championship. It was something beyond our expectations. In one’s life, having the opportunity to see the EPL title is good enough.
“There should be many surprises from Chelsea this time as they are here to celebrate the titles with local supporters,” said Piti.
Tickets with prices varying between Bt500 and 4,000 are available at every branch of Thai Ticket Major and www.thaiticketmajor.com from 10am today. The clients of Bangkok Bank, Chelsea’s new sponsors in the country, would get a 10% discount when they buy the tickets.
