The Rajamangala National Stadium (Thai: ราชมังคลากีฬาสถาน; RTGSRatchamangkhala Kila Sathan, pronounced [râːt.t͡ɕʰā.māŋ.kʰā.lāː kīː.lāː sā.tʰǎːn]) is the national stadium of Thailand national football team. It is part of the Hua Mak Sports Complex, and is located in Hua Mak Subdistrict, Bang Kapi, Bangkok. Its official opening on 6 December 1998 coincided with the beginning of the 1998 Asian Games.[1]

Rajamangala National Stadium
ราชมังคลากีฬาสถาน
Rajamangala National Stadium in July 2007
Map
LocationHua Mak, Bang Kapi, Bangkok, Thailand
Coordinates13°45′19″N 100°37′22″E / 13.7554°N 100.6227°E / 13.7554; 100.6227
Public transit MRT  SAT (from 2027)
OwnerSports Authority of Thailand
OperatorSports Authority of Thailand
Capacity51,552
Record attendance70,000 (Thailand vs Liverpool, 19 July 2001)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Built22 September 1988
Opened6 December 1998
Renovated2019
ArchitectFaculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University
Tenants
Thailand national football team (1998–present)

Overview edit

 
Aerial view of Rajamangala Stadium (2022)

The stadium was first used for the 1998 Asian Games in 1998 and 1999 ASEAN University Games. Also was the main venue for the 2007 Summer Universiade when hosted the football finals and the opening and closing ceremonies. Since then, it has been used for many international matches and football tournaments. Most notably, for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Thai club sides have also used the stadium when playing in continental cup competitions. Krung Thai Bank FC (now BG Pathum United) used it for AFC Champions League matches, and PEA FC and Chonburi FC have recently used it in the AFC Cup. Aside from football, it has been used for athletics, pop concerts, and political rallies.[2] In addition, Rajamangala Stadium was built to honor King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the occasion of His Majesty the King's 5th Cycle Birthday Anniversary, 5 December 1987, and the Rajamangala Celebrations (The Celebrations of the longest reigning Thai monarch) for King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 2th July 1988.[3]

Rajamangala Stadium was designed by the Faculty of Architecture at Chulalongkorn University. The main material used in construction was concrete and therefore, though the stadium is impressive and imposing, it could never be described as beautiful. However, it is undoubtedly dramatic. The stands rise and fall like a giant, exaggerated version of Huddersfield's Galpharm Stadium. At each end are quite narrow tiers of seats but the tiers rise and rise as they move around the sides until they peak at level with the halfway line. From an aesthetic point of view, the stadium is best viewed from a distance, preferably from the air, where the elliptical shape of the side tribunes seems particularly pronounced.[4]

The aforementioned side tribunes are designated 'East' and 'West'. 'East' is the uncovered popular side; 'West' is the covered side where the more expensive seats are. The two ends are designated 'North' and 'South'. 'North' is the more popular of the two. It's where the more vocal and colorful elements of the Thai support congregate.[5]

The capacity of the stadium is 65,000. When the stadium first opened, its capacity was 80,000. But plastic seats were installed on the North, South, and East stands, where previously there had been bare concrete steps, in preprepation for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.[6]

The stadium is not served by public transport which has always been a source of frustration for fans. Presently, there are no train stations anywhere near the stadium (unlike at the Suphachalasai Stadium, which is served by the Skytrain - National Stadium BTS station). However, there are buses and taxis which pass fairly close to the stadium. From 2027, the stadium will be served by the MRT Orange Line.

The stadium hosted the 2012 Race of Champions.

On 24 November 2013, a crowd estimated at 100,000 joined the rally around Bangkok's Democracy Monument in an anti-government protest, according to the Democrat Party, as pro-government red shirts gathered at Rajamangala Sports Stadium.

On 16 September 2019 Sports Authority of Thailand has been closed for renovation to be used as one of the stadiums for 2020 AFC U-23 Championship, which Thailand hosted in January 2020 to select 3 teams to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.[7]

On 12 July 2022, Rajamangala Stadium held the world-class football match for teams in the Premier League named "The MATCH Final Bangkok Century Cup 2022" between Manchester United vs. Liverpool, with improvements of the field and stadium to support the competition.[8][9]

Other stadiums in Bangkok include the Thai Army Sports Stadium, the Thai-Japanese Stadium, and Chulalongkorn University Stadium.

Performances edit

Past performances edit

Tournament results edit

The stadium has hosted several international FIFA matches. Here is a list of the most important international matches held at the Rajamangala Stadium.

1998 Asian Games edit

Date Time (UTC+07) Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round
7 December 1998 15:00   Japan 0–2   South Korea Second round (Group 2)
7 December 1998 17:00   United Arab Emirates 0–5   Kuwait Second round (Group 2)
8 December 1998 15:00   Qatar 1–0   Lebanon Second round (Group 4)
8 December 1998 17:00   Thailand 1–1   Kazakhstan Second round (Group 4)
9 December 1998 15:00   United Arab Emirates 1–2   South Korea Second round (Group 2)
9 December 1998 17:00   Japan 2–1   Kuwait Second round (Group 2)
10 December 1998 15:00   Qatar 0–2   Kazakhstan Second round (Group 4)
10 December 1998 17:00   Thailand 1–0   Lebanon Second round (Group 4)
11 December 1998 15:00   Japan 0–1   United Arab Emirates Second round (Group 2)
11 December 1998 17:00   South Korea 1–0   Kuwait Second round (Group 2)
12 December 1998 15:00   Kazakhstan 0–3   Lebanon Second round (Group 4)
10 December 1998 17:00   Thailand 1–2   Qatar Second round (Group 4)
14 December 1998 14:00   Thailand 2–1 (a.e.t.)   South Korea Quarter-finals
14 December 1998 17:00   Qatar 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(1–3 pen.)
  Kuwait Quarter-finals
16 December 1998 14:00   Iran 1–0   China Semi-finals
16 December 1998 17:00   Thailand 0–3   Kuwait Semi-finals
19 December 1998 17:00   Iran 2–0   Kuwait Gold medal match

2000 AFF Championship edit

Date Time (UTC+07) Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round Attendance
16 November 2000 16:00   Vietnam 2–3 (a.e.t)   Indonesia Semi-finals N/A
16 November 2000 19:00   Thailand 2–0   Malaysia Semi-finals N/A
18 November 2000 16:00   Vietnam 0–3   Malaysia Third place play-off N/A
18 November 2000 19:00   Thailand 4–1   Indonesia Final N/A

2007 AFC Asian Cup edit

Date Time (UTC+07) Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round Attendance
7 July 2007 19:30   Thailand 1–1   Iraq Group A 30,000
8 July 2007 17:15   Australia 1–1   Oman Group A 5,000
12 July 2007 17:15   Thailand 2–0   Oman Group A 19,000
13 July 2007 17:15   Iraq 3–1   Australia Group A 6,000
16 July 2007 19:30   Thailand 0–4   Australia Group A 46,000
21 July 2007 20:15   Iraq 2–0   Vietnam Quarter-finals 9,790

2008 AFF Championship edit

Date Time (UTC+07) Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round Attendance
20 December 2008 19:00   Thailand 2–1   Indonesia Semifinals second leg 40,000
24 December 2008 19:00   Thailand 1–2   Vietnam Finals first leg 50,000

2012 AFF Championship edit

Date Time (UTC+07) Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round Attendance
24 November 2012 17:30   Vietnam 1–1   Myanmar Group Stage N/A
24 November 2012 20:20   Thailand 2–1   Philippines Group Stage N/A
27 November 2012 17:30   Vietnam 0–1   Philippines Group Stage N/A
27 November 2012 20:20   Myanmar 0–4   Thailand Group Stage N/A
30 November 2012 20:20   Thailand 3–1   Vietnam Group Stage N/A

2014 AFF Championship edit

Date Time (UTC+07) Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round Attendance
10 December 2014 19:00   Thailand 3–0   Philippines Semifinals second leg N/A
17 December 2014 19:00   Thailand 2–0   Malaysia Finals first leg N/A

2016 AFF Championship edit

Date Time (UTC+07) Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round Attendance
8 December 2016 19:00   Thailand 4–0   Myanmar Semifinals second leg 43,638
17 December 2016 19:00   Thailand 2–0   Indonesia Finals second leg 48,000

2018 AFF Championship edit

Date Time (UTC+07) Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round Attendance
9 November 2018 19:00   East Timor 0–7   Thailand Group Stage 8,764
17 November 2018 18:30   Thailand 4–2   Indonesia Group Stage 37,570
25 November 2018 19:00   Thailand 3–0   Singapore Group Stage 29,673
5 December 2018 19:00   Thailand 2–2   Malaysia Semifinals second leg 46,157

2020 AFC U-23 Championship edit

Date Time (UTC+07) Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round Attendance
8 January 2020 20:15   Thailand 5–0   Bahrain Group Stage 7,076
11 January 2020 20:15   Australia 2–1   Thailand Group Stage 22,352
14 January 2020 20:15   Thailand 1–1   Iraq Group Stage 15,342
15 January 2020 20:15   Qatar 1–1   Japan Group Stage 1,362
16 January 2020 20:15   Vietnam 1–2   North Korea Group Stage 1,932
18 January 2020 20:15   Australia 1–0 (a.e.t.)   Syria Quarter-finals 214
19 January 2020 20:15   United Arab Emirates 1–5   Uzbekistan Quarter-finals 244
22 January 2020 17:15   Saudi Arabia 1–0   Uzbekistan Semi-Finals 329
25 January 2020 19:30   Australia 1–0   Uzbekistan Third place play-off 590
26 January 2020 19:30   South Korea 1–0   Saudi Arabia Final 2,879

2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup edit

Date Time (UTC+07) Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round Attendance
16 June 2023 21:00   Iran 6–1   Afghanistan Group Stage 73
17 June 2023 17:00   Japan 1–1   Uzbekistan Group Stage 421
19 June 2023 21:00   Qatar 0–0   Iran Group Stage 83
20 June 2023 17:00   Vietnam 0–4   Japan Group Stage 294
22 June 2023 17:00   Tajikistan 0–2   Australia Group Stage 128
22 June 2023 21:00   Afghanistan 2–1   Qatar Group Stage 78
23 June 2023 19:00   Japan 8–4   India Group Stage 274

Gallery edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ 30 ปีสนามราชมังคลากีฬาสถาน สังเวียนฟาดแข้งระดับชาติ - งานคอนเสิร์ตระดับโลก
  2. ^ 5 ปีผ่านมาใครใช้ราชมังฯ บ้าง? สำรวจ ‘ราชมังคลากีฬาสถาน’ หลังทีมชาติลงเล่นครั้งล่าสุด
  3. ^ “ราชมังคลากีฬาสถาน” VS “ศุภชลาศัย” เทียบความอลัง 2 สนามกีฬาไทย
  4. ^ “สนามราชมังคลากีฬาสถาน” 8 เรื่องที่หลายคนอาจยังไม่เคยรู้
  5. ^ สนามพร้อม ! เผยภาพราชมังคลากีฬาสถาน ก่อนฟุตบอลโลกรอบคัดเลือก
  6. ^ ว่าด้วยเรื่องของราชมังคลากีฬาสถาน และเกมที่ไม่เคยเกิดขึ้น
  7. ^ "ชมความงาม ราชมังคลาฯ หลังปรับปรุงใหม่". 16 September 2019.
  8. ^ รวมเรื่องน่ารู้กับ ‘THE MATCH Bangkok Century Cup 2022’ ศึกแดงเดือดครั้งประวัติศาสตร์ในเมืองไทย
  9. ^ แผนพลิกโฉม ‘ศูนย์กีฬาหัวหมาก’ ซ่อมใหญ่ ‘ราชมังคลา’ สู่ความทันสมัย
  10. ^ บันทึกการแสดงคอนเสิร์ต 15 ปี เมด อิน ไทยแลนด์
  11. ^ "สุดยอดความมัน และความอลังการของระบบภาพ เสียง และแสง กับคอนเสิร์ต "BODYSLAM LIVE IN คราม " สะกดสายตา กว่า 65000 คู่ ณ ราชมังคลากีฬาสถาน..."". Media Vision(Thai). 2010-11-20. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
  12. ^ "One Direction Announce 'On The Road Again' Tour Dates | MTV UK". MTV UK.
  13. ^ "COLDPLAY ANNOUNCES ASIAN TOUR FOR APRIL 2017 JUST ADDED NEW STADIUM SHOW IN THAILAND". www.bectero.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  14. ^ "TOUR | BTS | Big Hit Entertainment". bts.ibighit.com. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
  15. ^ "Ed Sheeran Tour Recap: Live at Rajamangala National Stadium, BANGKOK, THAILAND: 28 April 2019". Ed Sheeran Official Website. Retrieved 2019-05-18.

External links edit

Events and tenants
Preceded by Asian Games
Opening and Closing Ceremonies

1998
Succeeded by
Preceded by AFC Women's Asian Championship
Final Venue

2003
Succeeded by
Preceded by AFC Champions League
Final Venue

2003
Succeeded by
Preceded by FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship
Final Venue

2004
Succeeded by
Preceded by Premier League Asia Trophy
Venue

2007
Succeeded by
Preceded by Summer Universiade
Opening and Closing Ceremonies

2007
Succeeded by
Preceded by Race of Champions
Host stadium

2012
Succeeded by