Buddhists behind success

LEICESTER’S Thai owners are the power brokers behind this unprecedented surge to the Premier League title. And they do it very much their own way.

Owner and chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and his son Aiyawatt, the vice- chairman known as ‘ Top’, have three times got the beers in for the fans at the King Power Stadium since taking over the club in 2010, and also once handed out doughnuts.

Vichai made his fortune in duty- free shopping and is now reputedly worth around £ 2billion. Khun Vichai, as he is known in Thailand, has spent a relatively modest £ 77m on transfers but he also converted some £ 103m of Leicester’s debt into shares in 2013, wiping out the club’s liabilities and signalling his long- term intentions.

He has continued to invest in the stadium and training ground, and fl ies in by helicopter for each match. The publicity- shy family are also heavily into polo, another sport into which they have poured huge sums – but it is football that has really captured Vichai’s imagination.

Away coach travel for the fans is capped at £ 10 a head, and when the team won promotion to the top fl ight in 2014, he treated them to a meal of caviar and fi ne wine in a West End restaurant.

At that point, Vichai claimed he would spend £ 180m to take Leicester into the top fi ve in the country within three years.

It is a feat the Thai has achieved in only 12 months. The type of investment has also shown his commitment to the club, which is an indication that Leicester may not become the one- season wonders many expect, despite the wariness of manager Claudio Ranieri.

Top, often seen at the training ground, is the man charged with the dayto- day running of the club by his father.

The family are devout Buddhists, and have invited monks to the King Power Stadium and the training ground on several occasions to bless the squad.