Army United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลอาร์มี่ ยูไนเต็ด) was a Thai football club under the stewardship of

Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA ( th, กองทัพบกไทย; ) 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 so ...

based in the

Din Daeng District Din Daeng ( th, ดินแดง, ) 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 th ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in 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 estimated populatio ...

and is one of the oldest continuing football club in Asia until they decided to discontinue the club in the end of season 2019 after 103 years in existence. The club was founded in 1916 and was known as Royal Thai Army until November 2010. Their home stadium is known locally as the

Thai Army Sports Stadium The Royal Thai Army Stadium ( th, สนามกีฬากองทัพบก) 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 ...

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

Thai Premier League The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from Augu ...

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 represents the

and has 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, mainly supported by Army personnel shipped in for the games. The Army team has always been a mid ranking Thai team with their biggest successes coming in the

Thai Division 1 League Thai League 2 ( th, ไทยลีก 2), commonly known as the T2, formally called Thai Division 1 League, is the second-tier professional league in the Thai football league system. The top 3 are promoted to Thai League 1 at the end of the ...

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

. They came 16th in that season and in a normal season they would have been relegated. In 2011, rebranded Army United signed five Brazilians and surprised all expectations as they topped the TPL in the early weeks of the season. Crowds rose from a few hundred hardy souls to a season average of 5,580. Leandro Dos Santos was hitting the back of the net regularly yet 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 Daniel Alberto Blanco (born July 30, 1978) is an Argentine retired association football, footballer who played as a centre back and football coach. Honours Club ;F91 Dudelange *Luxembourg National Division (1): 2008-09 Luxembourg National Divi ...

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 ( th, มูลนิธิไทยคม เอฟเอคัพ) is the 19th season of Thailand knockout football competition. The tournament is organized by the Football Association of Thailand. The cup winner were g ...

final. On the way to the final, Army was given a reprieve after they'd 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 took the scalp of runaway TPL leaders

Muangthong United Muangthong United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลเมืองทอง ยูไนเต็ด) is a Thai professional football club based in Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi province. The club plays in the Thai League 1. ...

on the way to the final. The final itself was rather disappointing for the club with Army losing 2–1 to

Buriram United Buriram United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลบุรีรัมย์ ยูไนเต็ด) is a professional football club based in Buriram, Thailand. The club has played at the top level of Thai football for the ...

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

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...

. In 2019, Army United decided to dissolved the club end the history of the club with 103 years.

Stadium

is a

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

on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road in the

of north

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. It is currently used mostly for football 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 University (BU; th, มหาวิทยาลัยกรุงเทพ; ), commonly known as Mo Krung Thep ( th, มอกรุงเทพ), has operated since 1962, is one of the oldest and largest private, non-profit universities in ...

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 ...

and Osotsapa in the

2007 AFC Cup 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

. 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 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from Augu ...

*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

** Winner (1): 2004–05 *

Thai FA Cup The Thai FA Cup ( th, ไทยเอฟเอคัพ), 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 domest ...

** ''Runner-up'' (1):

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Kor Royal Cup Kor Royal Cup ( th, ถ้วยพระราชทาน ก. ; ถ้วย ก.), known as the Yai Cup ( th, ถ้วยใหญ่) until 1963, was the highest level of club football competition which competed in the tournament in Thailand ...

** Winner (1): 1983 *

Queen's Cup The Queen's Cup was an annual football cup competition in Thailand, run by the Football Association of Thailand. The competition was named after Queen Sirikit. It was first contested in 1970, with Bangkok Bank and Royal Thai Air Force ...

** ''Runner-up'' (1): 1997

References

External links

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