Ten Years Of King Power At Leicester City

01

The journey begins

King Power International completes a takeover of Leicester City Football Club on 8 August, 2010.

02

Sven arrives in Leicester

Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson is appointed as the Club’s 35th full-time manager. The experienced Swedish manager oversees a considerable improvement in form, including seven wins in eight outings over Christmas and the New Year, as the Foxes recover from a slow start to finish 10th in the Sky Bet Championship.

03

Real Madrid visit Filbert Way

Ahead of the 2011/12 season, Susan Whelan is appointed as Leicester City’s new Chief Executive Officer, shortly before the Club’s home venue is upgraded and renamed as King Power Stadium. The first visitors to the newly-named stadium are Spanish giants Real Madrid. Khun Vichai, now Chairman, also establishes the LCFC Foxes Foundation, later renamed in his honour.

04

Pearson returns

Nigel Pearson, now back at the Club, begins to build a squad worthy of Leicester City’s ambitions as the Foxes challenge for promotion back to the Premier League. In March, after having the family name Srivaddhanaprabha – meaning ‘light of progressive glory’ – bestowed upon him by His Majesty King Bhumibol of Thailand, Khun Vichai buys King Power Stadium to give the Club the keys to its own home.

05

Promotion back to the Premier League!

A season which began with King Power converting Leicester City’s debt into shares, investing £103M into the Club, concludes with the Nigel Pearson’s Foxes ending a 10-year exile from the Premier League with promotion. City win 102 points and break several of the Club’s seasonal records to lift the seventh second-tier title in its history and fulfil one of King Power’s key objectives.

06

King Richard III rests in Leicester

The people of Leicester provide a dignified reinternment for King Richard III – funded in part by a private donation from Khun Vichai – which also coincides with a remarkable reversal of fortunes, allowing Leicester City to pull off perhaps the greatest-ever ‘Great Escape’. The Foxes win seven of their final nine games to secure Premier League football for another year.

07

Ranieri joins the Foxes

Experienced Italian manager Claudio Ranieri joins the Club in July 2015 as the Football Club looks to build upon the successes of its first full Premier League campaign in a decade. The former Chelsea manager pledges to win the 40 points which are usually enough to secure a team’s survival in the top-flight, but it quickly becomes apparent that more is possible...

08

Vardy makes Premier League history

An incredible start to the 2015/16 campaign is illuminated further by Jamie Vardy breaking a record once belonging to Manchester United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy by scoring in his 11th consecutive Premier League match against the Red Devils in November 2015. Vardy, signed from non-league Fleetwood Town in 2012, ends the season on 24 goals.

09

Top at Christmas

Khun Vichai continues a tradition established several years previously by raising a toast with the Blue Army, laying on free beer or water as the Foxes sit top of the Premier League over the festive period. Leicester City, in turn, become the first team to be bottom of the table at Christmas one year to sit atop of the tree on the same day 12 months later.

10

City clinch the title!

A 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford is followed by Chelsea holding Leicester City’s title rivals Tottenham Hotspur to a 2-2 draw. Those results are enough to confirm the Football Club’s maiden English title, sparking emotional scenes of jubilation across the region. Thousands gather outside King Power Stadium to celebrate our greatest-ever achievement.

11

The trophy presentation

Leicester City are crowned as Premier League champions following a 3-1 victory over Everton at King Power Stadium, an occasion preceded by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, a friend of Claudio Ranieri, serenading the Blue Army before kick-off. Jamie Vardy scores twice while Andy King, a hero to the Club’s supporters, also finds the net on coronation day for the Foxes.

12

Khun Vichai's donation

Susan Whelan confirms during Leicester City’s Annual End of Season Dinner that Khun Vichai has pledged to donate £2M towards the establishment of a state-of- the-art children’s hospital in the city. In total, Khun Vichai would go on to pledge in excess of £4M to support the most vulnerable people and laudable causes across Leicester and Leicestershire.

13

A title party at Victoria Park

It’s party time! Over 240,000 people follow the Foxes on an open-top bus tour of Leicester before congregating at Victoria Park – one of Leicester Fosse’s first-ever venues – to bask in the glory of the Club’s Premier League title win. A week later, over 1M gather in Thai capital Bangkok as the Foxes tour the trophy in Khun Vichai and Khun Top’s homeland.

14

The European tour

The Foxes make a dream start to their maiden campaign in the UEFA Champions League, beating Belgian champions Club Brugge 3-0, with Marc Albrighton netting the Club’s first-ever goal in the prestigious competition, before a brace from Algerian wizard Riyad Mahrez. It would turn out to be the first of five continental destinations on the Blue Army’s ‘European tour’.

15

Accolades for the Foxes

Leicester City win the BBC Sports Personality Team of the Year in recognition of their stunning, odds-defying title triumph. Claudio Ranieri, meanwhile, is named as the Coach of the Year, alongside several other individual honours, including Riyad Mahrez winning the PFA Player of the Year prize and Jamie Vardy receiving the Premier League Player of the Year award.

16

Into the quarter-finals!

A 2-0 home win over Sevilla FC, under the management of Craig Shakespeare, is enough to secure Leicester City’s passage into the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Wes Morgan scores the opener before Marc Albrighton’s second is followed by a dramatic penalty save from Kasper Schmeichel in, perhaps, King Power Stadium’s greatest-ever game.

17

Another gift to the city

Khun Top announces a £1M donation to the University of Leicester to fund essential medical research and training in the city. Free beer, water and matchday programmes are also provided to the Blue Army as the Foxes conclude their 2016/17 season with a 1-1 draw with AFC Bournemouth at King Power Stadium.

18

Building for the future

The Club announces plans to build upon its magnificent on-field success with a new 185-acre, world-class training facility in Charnwood as part of Leicester City’s long-term commitment to strengthening Leicestershire as a home for the development of sport. Plans are also announced to develop and expand the site of King Power Stadium.

19

Tributes paid at King Power Stadium

Leicester City is heartbroken as a helicopter carrying Khun Vichai and four other passengers crashes outside King Power Stadium in October 2018. All five people on board pass away, leading to overwhelming gestures of condolence and solidarity outside the Club’s home. Manager Claude Puel speaks of the family which Khun Vichai created at Leicester City.

20

A royal visit to Leicester City

King Power Stadium hosts its first royal visit as The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tour the iconic home of Leicester City to pay tribute to those who tragically lost their lives. Their Royal Highnesses visit the tribute area, which has since become a place of dignified remembrance for those who so tragically died, including Khun Vichai.

21

Rodgers appointed as manager

Former Liverpool and Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers arrives at King Power Stadium, promising to transform the Club into one which is equipped to build upon Khun Vichai’s legacy and compete regularly with the Premier League’s elite sides.

22

A poignant moment on Filbert Way

In the 61st minute of a Premier League victory over AFC Bournemouth on 30 March, 2019, Leicester City supporters rise to their feet at King Power Stadium to honour their former Chairman on the nearest home fixture to what would have been Khun Vichai’s 61st birthday.

23

History on the south coast

The Foxes make their best-ever start to a Premier League campaign and, on 25 October 2019, Brendan Rodgers’ men record the joint-biggest win in the competition’s history. Leicester City’s 9-0 success at Southampton – including hat-tricks for both Jamie Vardy and Ayoze Pérez – is also the largest away win in an English top-flight league match in 131 years.

24

The Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Memorial Garden

Four days later, one year after Khun Vichai’s passing, the Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Memorial Garden officially opens at King Power Stadium, providing a place of peaceful reflection and solace forever on the site where the Club’s much-loved Chairman lost his life.

25

A return to European competition

Leicester City qualify for European competition once more as Khun Top continues to lead the Club into a new era and honour his father’s precious legacy at King Power Stadium.