The Rajamangala National Stadium (; , ) is the national stadium of Thailand national football team. It is part of the Hua Mak Sports Complex, and is located in Hua Mak Subdistrict, Bang Kapi, Bangkok. Its official opening on 6 December 1998 coincided with the beginning of the 1998 Asian Games.

Overview

The stadium was first used for the 1998 Asian Games in 1998 and 1999 ASEAN University Games. Also was the main venue for the 2007 Summer Universiade when hosted the football finals and the opening and closing ceremonies. Since then, it has been used for many international matches and football tournaments. Most notably, for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Thai club sides have also used the stadium when playing in continental cup competitions. Krung Thai Bank FC (now BG Pathum United) used it for

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

matches, and PEA FC and

Chonburi FC Chonburi Football Club () is a Thai professional association football, football club based in the city of Chonburi, Chonburi province, that competes in the first division in Football in Thailand, Thai football, Thai League 1, after promotion in t ...

have recently used it in the

AFC Cup The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC C ...

. Aside from football, it has been used for athletics, pop concerts, and political rallies. In addition, Rajamangala Stadium was built to honor King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...

on the occasion of His Majesty the King's 5th Cycle Birthday Anniversary, 5 December 1987, and the Rajamangala Celebrations (The Celebrations of the longest reigning Thai monarch) for King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 2th July 1988. Rajamangala Stadium was designed by the Faculty of Architecture at

Chulalongkorn University Chulalongkorn University (CU; ; , ) is a public university, public Autonomous university, autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally founded during King Chulalongkorn's reign as a school for training ro ...

. The main material used in construction was concrete and therefore, though the stadium is impressive and imposing, it could never be described as beautiful. However, it is undoubtedly dramatic. The stands rise and fall like a giant, exaggerated version of Huddersfield's Galpharm Stadium. At each end are quite narrow tiers of seats but the tiers rise and rise as they move around the sides until they peak at level with the halfway line. From an aesthetic point of view, the stadium is best viewed from a distance, preferably from the air, where the elliptical shape of the side tribunes seems particularly pronounced. The aforementioned side tribunes are designated 'East' and 'West'. 'East' is the uncovered popular side; 'West' is the covered side where the more expensive seats are. The two ends are designated 'North' and 'South'. 'North' is the more popular of the two. It's where the more vocal and colorful elements of the Thai support congregate. The capacity of the stadium is 65,000. When the stadium first opened, its capacity was 80,000. But plastic seats were installed on the North, South, and East stands, where previously there had been bare concrete steps, in preprepation for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. The stadium is not served by public transport which has always been a source of frustration for fans. Presently, there are no train stations anywhere near the stadium (unlike at the Suphachalasai Stadium, which is served by the Skytrain - National Stadium BTS station). However, there are buses and taxis which pass fairly close to the stadium. From 2027, the stadium will be served by the MRT Orange Line. On November 27, 2010, Bodyslam had a concert "Bodyslam Live In Kraam" with an audience of 65,000 people. also on February 9 - 10, 2019, They had a concert "Bodyslam Fest Wichatuabao" with an audience of 130,000 people. making both of them the largest concert in Thailand. The stadium hosted the 2012 Race of Champions. On 24 November 2013, a crowd estimated at 100,000 joined the rally around Bangkok's Democracy Monument in an anti-government protest, according to the Democrat Party, as pro-government red shirts gathered at Rajamangala Sports Stadium. On 16 September 2019 Sports Authority of Thailand has been closed for renovation to be used as one of the stadiums for 2020 AFC U-23 Championship, which Thailand hosted in January 2020 to select 3 teams to compete in the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo, Japan. On 12 July 2022, Rajamangala Stadium held the world-class football match for teams in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

named "The MATCH Final Bangkok Century Cup 2022" between

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

vs.

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, with improvements of the field and stadium to support the competition. Other stadiums in Bangkok include the

Thai Army Sports Stadium The Royal Thai Army Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in the Phaya Thai of north Bangkok, Thailand. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 20,000 and has a single stand with covered sea ...

, the

Thai-Japanese Stadium The Thai-Japanese Stadium (Japanese language, Japanese: タイ・ジャパニーズ・スタジアム; ), also called Thai-Japanese Bangkok Youth Center (, is a multi-purpose stadium in Din Daeng, Bangkok, Thailand. It is currently used mostly ...

, and Chulalongkorn University Stadium.

Performances

Past performances

* Carabao 15 Year Celebrate-Made in Thailand Concert – 25 December 1999 * B Day Concert – 10 December 2004 *Bangkok Music Festival – 7 May 2005 * Asanee-Wasan Rumrai Concert – 17 November 2007 *YAMAHA Presents SMTOWN Live’08 in Bangkok – 7 February 2009 *Show King M Bangkok – 6 April 2010 *Soda Chang Presents Bodyslam Live In Kraam By Air Asia – 27 November 2010 *Korean Music Wave in Bangkok presented by JL Starnet – 12 March 2011 *Bangkok Summer Festival By Coca-Cola – 7, 8 May 2011 * MBC Korean Music Wave in Bangkok 2012 – 7 April 2012 *

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

Born This Way Ball Tour – 25 May 2012 *

M! Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet from the CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. It features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. First hosted by Leete ...

Smile-Thailand – 11 October 2012 * Race of Champions - 14, 16 December 2012 *The Voice Thailand ''True Sound Real Sound'' – 2 March 2013 *

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...

On the Road Again Tour – 14 March 2015 *

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

A Head Full of Dreams Tour – 7 April 2017 * Bodyslam Fest Wichatuabao Live in Rajamangala Stadium Concert – 9, 10 February 2019 *

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...

Love Yourself World Tour – 6, 7 April 2019 *

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

÷ Tour – 28 April 2019 * Justin Bieber Justice World Tour – 6 November 2022 (Cancelled) *

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...

World Tour 2022 – 10 December 2022 * 37th

Golden Disc Awards The Golden Disc Awards (, formerly spelled the Golden Disk Awards before 2015) is an annual South Korean major music awards ceremony that honors achievements in the local music industry. The awards ceremony was founded with the purpose to prom ...

– 7 January 2023 * Harry Styles Love On Tour – 11 March 2023 * BLACKPINK Born Pink World Tour – 27, 28 May 2023 * SEVENTEEN Follow Tour – 23, 24 December 2023 *

Jay Chou Jay Chou Chieh-lun ( zh, s=周杰伦, t=周杰倫, first=t, p=Zhōu Jiélún; born 18 January 1979) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actor, director, and businessman. Regarded as one of the most influential artists in the Chinese-speaking worl ...

Carnival World Tour – 9 December 2023 * Coldplay Music of the Spheres World Tour – 3, 4 February 2024 * Ed Sheeran +–=÷× Tour - 10 February 2024 * Bruno Mars 2022–2024 Tour - 30, 31 March 2024 * BamBam Area 52 The 1st World Tour Encore – 4 May 2024 *

NCT DREAM NCT Dream () is the third sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT (group), NCT, formed by SM Entertainment in 2016. They were initially intended to be the teenaged unit of NCT with an admission-and-graduation system, in which members would l ...

The Dream Show 3: Dream( )scape – 22, 23 June 2024 * Seventeen Right Here World Tour – 15, 16 February 2025 * GOT7 NESTFEST 2025 GOT7 Concert in Bangkok – 2, 3 May 2025 * Enhypen Walk The Line Tour – 21 June 2025 *

G-Dragon Kwon Ji-yong (; born August 18, 1988), best known as G-Dragon (), is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur, known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of K-pop". Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, G-Drag ...

Übermensch World Tour – 2 August 2025 *

NCT Dream NCT Dream () is the third sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT (group), NCT, formed by SM Entertainment in 2016. They were initially intended to be the teenaged unit of NCT with an admission-and-graduation system, in which members would l ...

The Dream Show 4: Dream the Future – 16, 17 August 2025 * Blackpink Deadline World Tour – 24, 25, 26 October 2025

Tournament results

The stadium has hosted several international FIFA matches. Here is a list of the most important international matches held at the Rajamangala Stadium.

1998 Asian Games

2000 AFF Championship

2007 AFC Asian Cup

2008 AFF Championship The 2008 AFF Championship was the seventh edition of the tournament. It was primarily sponsored by Suzuki and therefore officially known as the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup. The group stage was held in Indonesia and Thailand from 5 to 10 December 2008. T ...

2012 AFF Championship

2014 AFF Championship

2016 AFF Championship

2018 AFF Championship

2020 AFC U-23 Championship

2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

2024 ASEAN Championship The 2024 ASEAN Championship (officially the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 due to sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of the ASEAN Championship (formerly the AFF Championship) association football, football tournament of nations affili ...

Gallery

File:Rajamangala Stadium.jpg File:Asian Cup Opening Ceremony I.jpg File:2007 AFC Asian Cup Welcome Banner.jpg File:RajamangalaStadium.jpg File:Rajamangala pitch.JPG File:Raja 01.JPG File:Raj 02.JPG File:Raj 03.JPG File:นายกรัฐมนตรี เป็นประธานทีมเชียร์ไทย ในการแข่งขันฟุตบอล - Flickr - Abhisit Vejjajiva (10).jpg File:Rajamangala Stadium Panorama.jpg

References

External links

World Stadiums.com
{{2007 AFC Asian Cup stadiums National stadiums Football venues in Thailand Athletics (track and field) venues in Thailand Sports venues in Bangkok Stadiums of the Asian Games Bang Kapi district Sports venues completed in 1998 1998 establishments in Thailand