Army United Football Club () was a Thai defunct professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club under the stewardship of the

Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA (; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's sovereignty. The army was formed in 187 ...

based in the

Din Daeng District Din Daeng (, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbours, clockwise from north, are Chatuchak, Huai Khwang, Ratchathewi, and Phaya Thai. History The district was created in 1993, when the eastern part of Phay ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. It was one of the oldest football clubs in Asia, until it was discontinued at the end of the 2019 season after 103 years in existence. The club was founded in 1916 and was known as Royal Thai Army until November 2010. Their home stadium was known locally as 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 ...

and was more widely known around Asian circles as the Royal Thai Army Stadium, which had been host to numerous international youth matches due to its central Bangkok location. The club played in red shirts with red shorts and red socks. Despite finishing bottom of the

Thai Premier League The Thai League (, pronounced as ') or Thai League 1 (, pronounced as '), often referred to as T1, is the highest level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai L ...

in 2010, they managed to regain their top-flight status after winning Group B of the Thai League Play-off in 2011.

History

Army United represented the

and had traditionally been Thailand's yo-yo club along with the Navy and Police clubs. Up until 2010, and the name change from the Royal Thai Army to Army United, the club lacked support and had dwindling crowds, and were mainly supported by Army personnel shipped in for the games. The Army team had always been a mid ranking Thai team with their biggest successes coming in the

Thai Division 1 League Thai League 2 (), commonly known as the T2, formally called Thai Division 1 League, is the second-tier professional league in the Thai football league system. Seasons typically run from August to May, with each team playing 34 games : two agai ...

with a championship in the 2004–05 season and 2nd place in 2009. Both of these successes had of course come after relegation from the Thai Premier League. The club were based in the

of Central

, which is the area that bases the Royal Thai Army. Up until the 2011 season, the club operated a policy of only playing homegrown talent, but ditched this as the game became more professional and foreign players were brought into the team. Previously, the players would work for the Army during the week and play football on weekends, somewhat different from most clubs who operated on a full-time basis. In the 2010 season, they were reprieved from relegation after an end of season relegation/playoff system was announced to expand the

, and thus escaped relegation despite finishing 16th. In 2011, rebranded Army United signed five Brazilians and surprised all expectations as they topped the TPL in the early weeks of the season, with Leandro Dos Santos scoring regularly. Crowds rose from a few hundred to a season average of 5,580. However, the early season form petered out and Army finished in 13th position. In 2012, most of the Brazilians had moved on but were replaced with other highly rated foreign stars. Daniel Blanco was the most impressive performer as Army flirted with the Top 6 for long periods before eventually finishing in 10th position. The 2012 season also coincided with Army reaching the

2012 Thai FA Cup The Thai FA Cup 2012 () is the 19th season of Thailand knockout football competition. The Football Association of Thailand organizes the tournament. The cup winner was guaranteed a place in the 2013 AFC Champions League. Calendar Qualifying ...

final. On the way to the final, Army was given a reprieve after they lost a penalty shoot-out to regional league side Trat. It turned out that Trat had fielded an unregistered player and was booted out of the cup with Army reinstated. Army United then defeated runaway TPL leaders

Muangthong United Muangthong United Football Club () is a Thai professional football club based in Muang Thong Thani, Pak Kret district, Nonthaburi province. The club plays in the Thai League 1, the top-flight football league of Thailand. Muangthong United has pa ...

on the way to the final. However, Army lost the final 2–1 to

Buriram United Buriram United Football Club () is a Thai professional football club based in Buriram. The club has played at the top level of Thai football for the majority of their existence and competes in the Thai League 1. The club was founded in 1970 as P ...

. In 2013, the club signed a strategic partnership deal with Thai-owned English club

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. In 2019, Army United decided to dissolve the club, ending the history of the club after 103 years.

Stadium

is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road in the

of north

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. It is currently used mostly for

matches and is the home stadium of Army United F.C.Army United Clubinfo on thai-fussball.com
/ref> The stadium holds 20,000 and has a single stand with covered seating on one side and terracing on three sides. An athletics track surrounds the pitch. It is often used by Thai club sides in international football competitions and was used by

Bangkok University Bangkok University (BU; ; ), commonly known as Mo Krung Thep (), has operated since 1962, is one of the oldest and largest private, non-profit universities in Thailand. Bangkok University began in the Kluay Nam Thai area of Bangkok. The unive ...

in the

2007 AFC Champions League The 2007 AFC Champions League was the 26th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament and the 5th edition under the current AFC Champions League title. Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds became champions for the first time, beating Se ...

and Osotsapa in the

2007 AFC Cup The 2007 AFC Cup was the fourth edition of the AFC Cup, playing among clubs from nations who are members of the Asian Football Confederation. Qualification The 13 'developing' nations in the Asian Football Confederation were invited to nominate ...

. Additionally, it has been used for matches involving national sides in international tournaments hosted by Thailand where the hosts are not involved.

Stadium and locations by season records

Season by season domestic record

*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 *TPL =

*TL =

Thai League 1 The Thai League (, pronounced as ') or Thai League 1 (, pronounced as '), often referred to as T1, is the highest level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai L ...

*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 *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

Coaches

''Coaches by Years (1996–2019)

Honours

Domestic competitions

** Champions (1): 2004–05 *

Thai FA Cup The Thai FA Cup (), known officially as The Football Association of Thailand Cup, is a football cup competition in Thailand. Thai FA Cup is an annual knockout association football competition in men's domestic football. It was held between 1974 a ...

** Runners-up (1):

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Kor Royal Cup Kor Royal Cup (), known as the Yai Cup () until 1963, was the highest level of club football competition which competed in the tournament in Thailand from 1916 to 1995. It was founded by the Football Association of Thailand in 1916. Department of ...

** Winners (1): 1983 *

Queen's Cup Queen's Cup may refer to: * Queen's Cup (football), a former annual football competition in Thailand (1970-2010) * Cartier Queen's Cup, an annual polo tournament in England * Queen's Cup (golf), an annual golf tournament in Thailand * Queen's Cup ...

** Runners-up (1): 1997

References

External links

*
Army United
at Thai Premier League official website {{Thai League 1 Football clubs in Bangkok Association football clubs established in 1916 Thai League 1 clubs 1916 establishments in Siam Military association football clubs in Thailand