Air Force United Football Club (Thai: สโมสรฟุตบอลแอร์ฟอร์ซ ยูไนเต็ด) was a Thai defunct professional football club based in Lam Luk Ka, Pathum Thani province. Defunct after 2019 season, the club was renamed to Uthai Thani F.C. and was relocated to Uthai Thani province.[1] The team formed the football section of the Royal Thai Air Force until 2019.[2]
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| Full name | Air Force United Football Club สโมสรฟุตบอลแอร์ฟอร์ซ ยูไนเต็ด | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Blue Eagles (อินทรีทัพฟ้า) | |||
| Founded | 1937; as Royal Thai Air Force Football Club | |||
| Dissolved | 2019 (became Uthai Thani) | |||
| Ground | Thupatemi Stadium Pathum Thani, Thailand | |||
| Capacity | 25,000 | |||
| Owner | Royal Thai Air Force | |||
| Active departments of Royal Thai Air Force | ||
|---|---|---|
 | _pictogram.svg){kind=small} | |
| Football | Volleyball (Men's) | Volleyball (Women's) |
History
Historically, Air Force United had been one of the most successful Thai football clubs. However, since the turn of the century, they hadn't achieved much success. The last silverware they won was the FA Cup back in 2001.Air Force hadn't played in the topflight of Thai football since 2004.[3][4]
In 2010 Thai Division 1 League, the season started off brightly for the Airmen, and by the midway point they were strong candidates for promotion. In the second half of the season, they lost form and finished in 6th spot for the second consecutive season.
The 2011 & 2012 seasons both saw Air Force United flirting with relegation before they eventually finished in mid-table. The club had to relocate to Ramkhamheang University for the latter stages of the 2011 season because their stadium was flooded due to the 2011 Thailand floods. Despite returning home for the first half of the 2012 season, the club played the second leg of the campaign at North Bangkok University while their ground was being renovated.[5]
In the 2013 season under the stewardship of club legend Narasak Boonkleng, the team started out with two 1 goal victories followed by a frustrating 4 straight goalless draws which had the making of a long tough season. But the Airmen had a nine-game winning streak with 1 goal victories, which put the Air Force United in prime position to win promotion back to the Premier League after 10 years' absence. The 2nd Leg saw them struggle a bit, but they regrouped to pull off a series of wins to gain promotion and win the league in subsequent home games.[6]
The 2014 season start was just a total nightmare unable to win the first twelve games until the 2–1 away victory at Singhtarua. Despite showing some sign of improvement, the club management decided to part ways with head coach Narasak Boonkleng. The club's fortunes did not improve with a seven-game winless streak followed by a nine-game winless streak to end the season and relegated back to League 1 after just one season.[7]
The 2015 season started with Sasom Pobprasert as full-time head coach, but it started poorly with one draw and two losses in the first three games. The next four games saw massive improvement with 2 wins and 1 draw pulling out of relegation and into 13th place before the Songkran (Thai New Year's) break. Another chance to show that the team had settled down was when they hosted Navy FC of Premier League in the 1st Round of the 2015 Toyota League Cup, but the team took a 1–0 lead into injury time and gave up 2 goals to be eliminated from the cup. Since being eliminated from the League Cup, the team had a 6-game unbeaten streak with 4 wins and 2 draws placing them at 3rd place in the table right before the league went on a 40-day break for the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.[2][3]
Renaming and relocation to Uthai Thani
At the end of season 2019, the club owner decided to change the club name to Uthai Thani and relocated to Uthai Thani Province.[8][9]
Stadium and locations
| Coordinates | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°57′04″N 100°37′28″E / 13.951133°N 100.624507°E | Pathum Thani | Thupatemi Stadium | 25,000 | 2007–2011 |
| 14°00′22″N 100°40′23″E / 14.006079°N 100.672992°E | Pathum Thani | North Bangkok University Stadium (Rangsit) | 3,000 | 2012 |
| 13°57′04″N 100°37′28″E / 13.951133°N 100.624507°E | Pathum Thani | Thupatemi Stadium | 25,000 | 2012–2019 |
Season-by-season record
| Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Queen's Cup | Asia | Top scorer | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | Name | Goals | |||||
| 1996–97 | TPL | 34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 54 | 48 | 35 | 7th | W[10] | – | GR[11] | – | — | — |
| 1997 | TPL | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 42 | 45 | 23 | 1st | — | – | Did Not Play[11] | R2[12] | — | — |
| 1998 | TPL | 22 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 40 | 52 | 31 | 2nd | — | – | – | – | — | — |
| 1999 | TPL | 22 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 39 | 43 | 27 | 1st | R2 | – | — | – | — | — |
| 2000 | TPL | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 41 | 34 | 19 | 2nd | — | – | QF[11] | R2[13] | — | — |
| 2001–02 | TPL | 22 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 23 | 21 | 32 | 4th | W[10] | – | — | R2[14] | — | — |
| 2002–03 | TPL | 18 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 23 | 26 | 29 | 5th | – | – | QF[11] | – | — | — |
| 2003–04 | TPL | 18 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 38 | 9th | – | – | Did not qualify | – | — | — |
| 2005 | DIV 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | – | – | – | – | — | — |
| 2006 | DIV 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | – | – | Did Not Play[11] | – | — | — |
| 2007 | DIV 1 | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 41 | 22 | 42 | 3rd | – | – | – | – | — | — |
| 2008 | DIV 1 | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | 32 | 40 | 10th | – | – | – | – | Watcharapong Channgam | 9 |
| 2009 | DIV 1 | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 42 | 45 | 36 | 6th | R2[15] | – | Knockout Round | – | Pornchai Ardjinda | 7 |
| 2010 | DIV 1 | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 48 | 33 | 48 | 6th | R4[16] | R2[17] | GR | – | Pornchai Ardjinda | 15 |
| 2011 | DIV 1 | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 36 | 53 | 40 | 14th | R2[18] | R1[19] | – | – | Kouassi Yao Hermann & Anusak Laosangthai | 12 |
| 2012 | DIV 1 | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 45 | 45 | 44 | 9th | R2[20] | R2[21] | – | – | Kouassi Yao Hermann | 20 |
| 2013 | DIV 1 | 34 | 20 | 9 | 5 | 51 | 28 | 69 | 1st | R2[22] | R3[23] | – | – | Kouassi Yao Hermann | 16 |
| 2014 | TPL | 38 | 6 | 12 | 20 | 35 | 63 | 30 | 19th | R3[24] | R2 | – | – | Kouassi Yao Hermann | 13 |
| 2015 | DIV 1 | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 53 | 50 | 52 | 9th | R3 | R1 | – | – | Julius Oiboh | 8 |
| 2016 | DIV 1 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 44 | 29 | 42 | 4th | QR | R2 | – | – | Valdo | 12 |
| 2017 | T2 | 32 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 61 | 40 | 62 | 2nd | R1 | QF | – | – | Kayne Vincent | 13 |
| 2018 | T1 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 26 | 32 | 78 | 16 | 18th | R2 | QF | – | – | Kayne Vincent | 8 |
| 2019 | T2 | 34 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 39 | 53 | 34 | 14th | R2 | R1 | – | – | Kayne Vincent | 6 |
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated | In Progress |
Achievements
Domestic
League
- Thai League 1: 2 titles[25]
- Thai League 2: 1 titles
- Khǒr Royal Cup (Tier 2 when contested): 16 titles
- 1949-51, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1973, 1977, 1982, 1985–87, 1989, 1991
- Khor Royal Cup (Tier 5 when contested): 8 titles
- 1966, 1970, 1971, 1983, 1985–87, 1990
- Ngor Royal Cup (tier 6 when contested): 4 titles
- 1966, 1984, 1986, 1988
Cups
- Queen's Cup: 3 titles[11]
- 1970, 1974, 1982
- 1996
- League Cup: 2 titles[27]
- 1987, 1994
- Kor Royal Cup: 12 titles[25]
- 1952, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1967, 1987, 1996
Performance in AFC competitions
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988–89[1] | Asian Club Championship | Qualifying round |  | Pahang | 2–1 | – |
| Qualifying round |  | Geylang International | 9–0 | – | ||
| Qualifying round |  | Niac Mitra | 2–1 | – | ||
| Qualifying round |  | Bandaran | 9–0 | – | ||
| 1997–98 | Asian Cup Winners' Cup | First round | | Melaka Telekom | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Second round | | PSM Makassar | 1–2 | 0–0 | ||
| 2000–01 | Asian Club Championship | Second round | | PSM Makassar | 6–1 | 0–5 |
| 2001–02 | Asian Cup Winners' Cup | Second round | | Home United | 1–0 | 0–5 |
- Notes