Thailand Smiles With You: LCFC & King Power Team Up To Support Thai Tourism
- Leicester City, King Power and Tourism Authority of Thailand launch Thailand Smiles With You campaign
- Programme aims to support Thailand’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic
- Thailand Smiles With You features on LCFC players’ shirts for 2020/21 Premier League games
- King Power have pledged significant support to Leicester communities during the pandemic
- LCFC Chairman highlights opportunity to strengthen international relationships
The campaign – called Thailand Smiles With You – will see the three parties working together during the global emergence from the pandemic, to reintroduce one of the world’s most visited tourist destinations.
The new 2020/21 Leicester City home shirt by adidas, the players’ version of which will feature Thailand Smiles With You for Premier League games next season, was revealed by Leicester City Chairman and King Power CEO Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha at the global launch of the campaign in Bangkok on Thursday 23 July.
Since being acquired by Bangkok-based King Power in 2010, Leicester City have enjoyed incredible support from the people of Thailand, whose passion for football has been a feature of the Club’s international progress in the last 10 years.
Thailand Smiles With You is an opportunity for the Club and King Power to return that support to Thai communities affected by the pandemic – just as they have to the communities of Leicester.
Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, Leicester City Chairman and CEO of King Power International, said: “The impact of COVID-19 is being felt all over the world and the relationship between Leicester City and King Power gives us the opportunity to support the shared communities that are closest to us.
“In Leicester, the Club has been able to reach out directly to make support available to a number of causes affected by the pandemic and will retain the backing of King Power to continue supporting Leicester’s future recovery.
“This campaign is our opportunity to make a difference in Thailand, where tourism contributes significantly to the nation’s economy and, as a result, the livelihoods of millions of Thai people.
“The relationship between King Power and Leicester City has been such a powerful vehicle for success for our entire organisation in the last 10 years. I’m extremely proud to make the power of that relationship available to the Tourism Authority of Thailand in the 2020/21 season.”
Thailand Smiles With You will see King Power – Leicester City’s official shirt partner since 2010 – donate a significant part of its sponsorship inventory to the campaign.
Leicester City players will wear the Thailand Smiles With You brand on their shirts for Premier League matches until the end of the 2020/21 season, starting with the visit of Manchester United to King Power Stadium on Sunday 26 July.
King Power will retain front-of-shirt presence on players’ shirts for cup and European competitions.
The King Power home shirt will go on sale to supporters online and at the Foxes Fanstore at King Power Stadium on Monday 27 July. Supporters will also have the option of placing a pre-order on a limited run of the Thailand Smiles With You home shirt for delivery this autumn. Further details will be confirmed on LCFC.com before Monday’s launch.
The prices of all retail shirts will remain frozen, with Adult shirts priced at £55.
Leicester City Chairman Khun Aiyawatt added: “The world has changed in recent months, sharpening everyone’s focus to take care of our communities and to do the right thing. That doesn’t happen without some agility in our business and we have had to make some changes to our plans for 2020/21 as a result.
“But I feel confident it is a campaign Leicester City supporters will get behind, strengthening the sense of solidarity that already exists between the city and the people of Thailand.”
Thailand Smiles With You will also see Leicester City reaching further across Thailand than ever before – striving for deeper engagement with key communities, strengthening the relationship between football fans in Leicester and Thailand and using those relationships to showcase some of the country’s finest assets to the world.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has been a leading supporter of the Foxes since King Power’s acquisition in 2010. Its ‘Amazing Thailand’ brand has been prominent on King Power Stadium inventory and also featured as part of a back-of-shirt sponsorship during the 2013/14 Championship winning season.
The 2020/21 partnership will see the development of a new campaign to support Thailand’s recovery in full view of the world.