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Leicester City to honour Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha with a memorial statue

By Harneet Singh Sethi

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: People walk past a mural dedicated to Leicester City Football Club and Buddhist monk Phra Prommangkalachan on October 28, 2018 in Leicester, England. The city of Leicester is in mourning after Leicester City's Thai chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha died in a helicopter crash alongside four others at the club's King Power Stadium on Saturday. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: People walk past a mural dedicated to Leicester City Football Club and Buddhist monk Phra Prommangkalachan on October 28, 2018 in Leicester, England. The city of Leicester is in mourning after Leicester City's Thai chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha died in a helicopter crash alongside four others at the club's King Power Stadium on Saturday. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) /
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Leicester City will build a statue of the late Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha outside the King Power Stadium.

The fans had been very vocal in expressing their desire for a statue to be erected in the memory of Khun Vichai, and they’d all be pleased with the decision.

It was the Thai’s son, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who made the announcement in a souvenir programme for the Premier League clash against Burnley this weekend.

In his personal tribute in the programme, he wrote:

"“We will never be able to repay what he did for us – for me as his son, us as his family, everyone connected to Leicester City and beyond – but we are committed to honouring his memory and upholding his legacy.“Our continued growth as a Club, our state-of-the-art new training ground and our planned stadium expansion will help realise his vision for Leicester City.“I plan to commission a statue of my father, for outside King Power Stadium, as a permanent and fitting tribute to the man that made it all possible.“He will forever be in our hearts. He will never be forgotten.”"

LEICESTER, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 29: People walk past a mural dedicated to Leicester City Football Club and Buddhist monk Phra Prommangkalachan on October 28, 2018 in Leicester, England. The city of Leicester is in mourning after Leicester City’s Thai chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha died in a helicopter crash alongside four others at the club’s King Power Stadium on Saturday. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 29: People walk past a mural dedicated to Leicester City Football Club and Buddhist monk Phra Prommangkalachan on October 28, 2018 in Leicester, England. The city of Leicester is in mourning after Leicester City’s Thai chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha died in a helicopter crash alongside four others at the club’s King Power Stadium on Saturday. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) /

A statue isn’t all. There’s plenty more that has been planned to honour Khun Vichai on Saturday:

  • The players will be wearing shirts embroidered with his name.
  • A special video will be played before the kick-off (15.00 GMT).
  • The fans have planned a tribute march to the ground.
  • Gifts of scarves, pin badges, clap banners and souvenir programmes will be handed out to all the fans attending the fixture.
  • This being the club’s annual Rememberance Fixture, a two-minute silence will be observed to honour the sacrifices of the past and the five lives lost in the helicopter tragedy.

The upcoming Saturday will easily be the most emotional and poignant Saturday that Leicester have ever had. Forget about the football, it’ll be all about one man and just him: Khun Vichai.

While what happens in the match tomorrow is not going to matter to anyone at all, Claude Puel and the players will want to get a win for Khun Vichai. In a way, that’d be their tribute to the great man.

Next. Prediction: how Leicester City will line up against Burnley. dark

It won’t be easy without Harry Maguire and James Maddison – who would themselves be gutted to miss out with knee injuries – but then again, what has been easy for this club?

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