Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha: 10 reasons Leicester chief was the perfect owner | OneFootball

Four years ago today, a helicopter crashed taking off from Leicester City’s King Power stadium whilst carrying with it the club’s owner, two members of staff, a passenger and the pilot.

The accident tragically killed all five people involved with the helicopter bursting into a fireball upon impact.

It will forever be remembered as one of the saddest days in Premier League and football history.

But for Leicester fans especially, who adored Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha (the former owner), the heartbreak must have been unbearable.

The Thai-born billionaire did so much for the club throughout his eight-year tenure – and we aren’t just talking about his on-pitch success.

For off the field of play, Vichai’s impact was arguably even greater than guiding the Foxes to the Premier League title as 5000/1 underdogs.

Here are 10 reasons why the Leicester hero was the model football club owner.

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha: the perfect owner

1. The clearance of Leicester’s £100 million debt

Vichai acquired the club in 2010 for a cut-price fee of £39 million. The Foxes were struggling in the Championship at the time, hence the low figure, but had existing debts which amounted to over £100 million.

Over the first four years of his reign, Vichai would steadily clear that mammoth figure by pumping money into the club – and lots of it.

Eventually leaving them debt free and fighting fit, ready to mount a charge for Premier League promotion.

2. Donated £1 million to Leicester University’s medical department

In the money-rich world that football now exists in, it’s only right to give back to the community where possible.

Many owners do exactly that nowadays through community outreach programmes and so forth, but Vichai took things to new heights – demonstrated by his £1 million donation towards Leicester University’s medical department.

3. Donated £1 million to Leicester royal infirmary

He matched that donation to Leicester’s royal infirmary.

And according to the Mirror, he even threw a party there for young hospital patients to enjoy.

4. Donated £2 million towards building a new children’s hospital

To round off his vast sum of donations to the infrastructure of the city of Leicester, Vichai also provided a £2 million cash injection towards the development of a new children’s hospital.

After his tragic passing, Leicester Hospitals Charity confirmed that they would be naming the Children’s Intensive Care Unit and the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in his honour.

5. Vichai was a man of the people: he gave fans free beer and organised free travel to away games

Yes, you read that correctly. Free beer was often provided to fans, and so to were free scarves and complimentary cakes.

Could life have gotten any sweeter? Not by the sounds of it. A warm can of beer followed by a plasticky piece of cheese on your chips seems more fitting for most football stadiums.

6. He got Leicester promoted to the Premier League

As a fan, having an owner that seeks to bond with and develop the community is the dream.

But getting good results on the pitch needs to be their bread and butter.

Fortunately, Vichai delivered in that department too. In 2014/15, he ended Leicester’s 11-year Premier League drought and returned them to the big time.

7. Leicester: Premier League champions

Is Leicester’s title-winning season the greatest success story in the history of sport? By our calculations, by an absolute landslide.

The Foxes were 5000/1 to win it all prior to the commencement of the 2015/16 campaign and had been back in the English top-flight for just one year.

Yet, they defied all odds and expectations and pulled off a miracle so big that we’ll surely never see anything like it again.

8. BMW super cars all round

After Claudio Ranieri and his men had won the title in 2016, Vichai decided to treat every member of the squad to a brand new £105,000 BMW super car.

9. He made Leicester reaching the UCL quarter-final possible

So, Leicester made a good run of it in their single Champions League campaign.

Getting to the quarterfinals of such an elite competition is no mean feat, especially with the budget afforded to them in comparison to the likes of Real Madrid and the sort.

If you had said to any Leicester fan back in 2010 that they would be witnessing their club, take on Atletico Madrid for a place in the last four of the Champions League, you would almost certainly have been branded as drunk.

But football can be a strange place sometimes.

10. He united an entire city

Maybe most significantly, though, is what Vichai did for the fans, people and city of Leicester.

Beyond the investment in the community, the on-pitch success and even the free beer, he brought people together again and gave them a worthwhile cause to support.

And that, at the end of the day, has a value that is beyond measure.

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