Thai League 1

Thailand has had league-football competition since 1916. Before the inception of the Thai League, the highest level of club football was the semi-professional league Kor Royal Cup (Thai: ถ้วย ก.) which was contested in a tournament format from 1916 to 1995.

Thai League was introduced in 1996 by the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) under the name Thailand Soccer League. Eighteen clubs who earlier competed for the Kor Royal Cup were registered to play in the first edition of a double round-robin league system.[1] Thai Farmers Bank was crowned as the first champion of the 1996–97 Thailand Soccer League.

The Thai League originally had 10 to 12 clubs each season until 2007, when it was expanded to 16 clubs. At the end of each season, the three bottom placed clubs are relegated to the Thai Division 1 League.

Most of Thai League clubs in that time were the organisation of government authorities club that based in Greater Bangkok and Metropolitan. Meanwhile, the other local clubs had competed in the semi-pro league called the Provincial League. Thai Premier League faced the issue of low attendance and lack of local loyalties while the Provincial league suffered the financial issue. In 2007, Thai League was integrated with Provincial League completely. Chonburi from the Provincial League was the first champion of the new Thailand Premier League in 2007 season.

In 2009 season, there were significant changes in the lead to the new era of the Thai Premier League. Asian Football Confederation declared the regulations for the associations that have the intention to send the clubs to compete in AFC Champions League starting from 2011.[2] Football Association of Thailand had to establish Thai Premier League co.ltd and forced the clubs in the top league to complete AFC Club License Criteria[3] otherwise Thai clubs will not eligible to play in the Champions League. Clubs were forced to separate themselves from the parent organisations and registered as the independent football authorities.

The massive changes occurred in that season. Thailand Premier League renamed to Thai Premier League. Two times league champion Krung Thai Bank failed to complete the new regulations. The organisation decided to sell the club. The club was acquired by Boon Rawd and rebranded to be Bangkok Glass. Bangkok University had expelled their football club section. The club rebrand itself to Bangkok United since then. The organisation-based clubs had to relocate to find the local supporters to backup the clubs. Osotspa changed their home stadium to Saraburi Province, TOT moved to play in Kanchanaburi, Royal Navy played in Rayong Province while Thailand Tobacco Monopoly integrated to Samut Sakhon Province and rebranded to TTM Samut Sakhon.

Muangthong United were promoted from Thai Division 1 League in that season and won Thai Premier League in their first year in the top league.

Thailand Clasico or The Classic Match of Thailand is the matchup between Muangthong United and Chonburi. It is the matchup that presents Thai football in the modern era. The name was given to the encounter of two teams due to the hype and massive atmosphere around the match. The first encounter between them happened in the 2009 Thai Premier League season. On 30 May 2009, Chonburi that was regarded as the best club in Thailand at that moment hosted the new powerhouse who were just promoted from Division 1 Muangthong United. The match was played at Nong Prue Stadium, Pattaya. Before the match, Chonburi was the leader in the table after 10 matches of the season while Muangthong followed in second with one less point. Chonburi made the lead by 2–0 in the first thirty minutes but Muangthong bounced back to win by the 5–2 result at the end. The match was full of the exciting and dramatic moments. Then, it was considered as one of the most classic matches in Thai League history. The Muangthong versus Chonburi matchup was dubbed as "Thailand Clasico" ever since then.

In 2012 season, Muangthong United under Serbian head coach Slaviša Jokanović, had become the first club in the league history that completed the season with an unbeaten record. Muangthong finished at the top of the final standing with 25 wins and 9 draws.

The Buriram Dominance refers to the 2013 to 2015 season, which Buriram United won Thai Premier League in three consecutive seasons as the first club in the league history. The three titles in that period included two invincible titles which Buriram United completed Thai Premier League campaign unbeaten in 2013 and 2015 season.

In 2017, Football Association of Thailand decided to rebrand Thai Premier League into Thai League 1. Since its inception in 1996 the Thai Premier League has relied upon local sponsorship. Re-branding initiatives seek to foster an international identity for the Thai and elevate the league globally through commitment to world class level management and marketing which incorporates multifaceted promotion through various media in order to draw attention to league competition and cups.[4][5] This rebranding earned the Good Design Award in the Brand Identity branch from the Japan Institute of Design Promotion.[6]

Unbeatable champions:

• Muangthong United in 2012
• Buriram United in 2013 and 2015

As of 16 February 2020

Thai League

Rank	Player	Period	Goals	Apps
1	Cleiton Silva	2010–2014, 2015–2017, 2018–2019	141	193
2	Heberty	2014–2016, 2017–	122	170
3	Teerasil Dangda	2009–2014, 2015–2017, 2019	117	270
4	Dragan Boškovic	2013–	110	182
5	Pipob On-Mo	2006–2019	108	404
6	Diogo	2015–2019	101	105
	Sarayuth Chaikamdee	2001–2004, 2007–2012, 2013–2014	101	233
8	Mario Gjurovski	2012–2019	93	197
9	Mohamed Koné	2003–2007, 2009, 2010–2014	87	177
10	Anon Sangsanoi	2006–2016	79	177
	Teeratep Winothai	2006–2008, 2009–2014, 2016–	79	260

Figures for active players (in bold).

As of 1 January 2019

Rank	Player	Position	Apps	Goals
1	Rangsan Viwatchaichok	MF	439	49
2	Pipob On-Mo	FW	402	108
3	Sinthaweechai Hathairattanakool	GK	353	1
4	Siwarak Tedsungnoen	GK	345	0
5	Pichitphong Choeichiu	MF	340	62
6	Nattaporn Phanrit	DF	335	19
7	Narit Taweekul	GK	315	1
8	Apichet Puttan	DF	262	7
9	Kittisak Rawangpa	GK	254	0
10	Jetsada Jitsawad	DF	253	4

Figures for active players (in bold) .

• Youngest player: Suphanat Mueanta (Buriram United) – 15 years, 8 months and 22 days (25 April 2018, Buriram United 2–1 Nakhon Ratchasima, 2018 Thai League 1)
• Oldest player: Somchai Subpherm (TOT) – 51 years, 7 months and 25 days (3 November 2013, Buriram United 2–1 TOT, 2013 Thai Premier League)
• Youngest scorer: Suphanat Mueanta (Buriram United) – 15 years, 9 months and 25 days (26 May 2018, Buriram United 5–0 Air Force Central, 2018 Thai League 1)
• Oldest scorer: Therdsak Chaiman (Chonburi) – 40 years, 8 months and 24 days (2 June 2014, TOT 1–1 Chonburi, 2014 Thai Premier League)
• Fastest scorer: Nirut Kamsawad (Port Authority) – 9 seconds (2001–02 Thai League)
• Most consecutive matches scored: 10 games – Diogo Luís Santo (Buriram United) (24 September 2017 – 2 March 2018, 2018 Thai League 1)
• Most consecutive unconceded matches: 6 games
  • Siwarak Tedsungnoen (Buriram United, 2014)
  • Kawin Thamsatchanan (Muangthong United, 2016)
  • Kawin Thamsatchanan (Muangthong United, 2017)
• All time most clean sheets: 815 minutes – Siwarak Tedsungnoen
• Most goals in a season: 38 goals – Dragan Bošković (Bangkok United, 2017)
• Most assists in a season: 19 assists – Theerathon Bunmathan (Buriram United, 2015)
• Most titles won: 7 times – Jakkaphan Kaewprom
• Most seasons appeared: 19 seasons – Amnaj Kaewkiew (1996–2014)
• All-time record for highest football transfer fee Thai players: 50 million baht – Tanaboon Kesarat (2017)

• Champion: 10,000,000 Baht
• Runner-up: 2,000,000
• Third place: 1,500,000
• Fourth place: 800,000

• 2011 – 2016 trophy: In 2010, Football Association of Thailand and Thai Premier League Co. Ltd considered to improve the image of Thai Premier League Trophy. The trophy itself was designed by Glue Creative from England and produced by British Silverware of Sheffield. The trophy was crafted by silver with the European style of a crown. Three divas are holding up the trophy and three golden elephants are standing on the base. The trophy is 75 cm tall and weighs more than 30 kg. The production used 250-man hours of work and the finished trophy worth 2 million baht.
• 2017 – current trophy: In 2017, Football Association of Thailand order the trophy produced from England that was created by Royal Jewellers Asprey of London to be new champions trophy. The trophy reflecting Thai identity by the use of Kranok pattern mixed with modern pattern and sculpt it pieces by piece.[7][8]

There are 18 clubs in the Thai League. During the course of a season, which lasts from February to October, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 34 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then head-to-head, then goal difference, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the head-to-head, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. The three lowest placed teams are relegated into the Thai League 2 and the top three teams from the Thai League 2 are promoted in their place.

In the past the champions will play in AFC Champions League playoffs and AFC Cup for the champions of Thai FA Cup. Due to reforms from the AFC for the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup format, there will be no more a direct qualification spot for the AFC Champions League for that Thai Champion, for the time being.[9] From 2012 Thai clubs has 1 automatic spot to the group stage and 1 playoff spot for the Thai FA Cup Winners and 1 playoff spot for the thai league runner-up.

As of 20 October 2018[10]

Extracted from the 2018 ranking of nations by their AFC Club Competitions Ranking[11]

Ranking			Member Association	Total Points	FIFA Points		Club Points		2018	2017	2016	2015
2018	2017	Mvmt			Points	(10%)	Points	(90%)
1	3	+2	China	95.928	431	5.928	70.517	90.000	15.450	24.567	14.750	15.750
2	6	+4	Qatar	94.003	339	4.663	70.000	89.340	15.600	13.400	22.000	19.000
3	2	-1	South Korea	86.028	520	7.153	61.800	78.875	14.350	9.950	20.750	16.750
4	1	-3	United Arab Emirates	85.275	405	5.571	62.450	79.704	8.100	11.350	18.000	25.000
5	7	+2	Iran	78.983	727	10.000	54.050	68.983	13.600	16.200	13.000	11.250
6	5	-1	Japan	78.352	528	7.263	55.700	71.089	8.100	21.850	10.500	15.250
7	4	-3	Saudi Arabia	74.445	462	6.355	53.350	68.090	5.000	18.600	9.500	15.250
8	10	+2	Thailand	57.403	253	3.480	42.250	53.923	16.200	15.050	1.000	10.000
9	8	-1	Australia	53.916	700	9.629	34.700	44.287	7.300	5.900	14.000	7.500
10	9	-1	Uzbekistan	42.190	381	5.241	28.950	36.949	9.400	5.050	9.750	4.750

The Thai League has been sponsored since 1996 until 2003 and has been sponsored again since 2010. The sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. The list below details who the sponsors have been and what they called the competition:

• 1996–1997: Johnnie Walker (Johnnie Walker Thailand Soccer League)
• 1998–2000: Caltex (Caltex Premier League)
• 2001–2003: Advanced Info Service (GSM Thai League)
• 2003–2005: None (Thai League)
• 2006–2008: None (Thailand Premier League)
• 2009: None (Thai Premier League)
• 2010–2012: Sponsor (Sponsor Thai Premier League)
• 2013–present: Toyota (Toyota Thai Premier League in 2013–2015, Toyota Thai League in 2016–present )

As of 24 June 2018.[12]