Foxes of Leicester
Fansided

How many fans Leicester have comparably with the big six clubs

By Akash Roy

Leicester City's King Power Stadium (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Leicester City's King Power Stadium (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /
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Leicester City
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha the Chairman of Leicester City and Milan Mandaric (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images) /

The rise of Leicester City

Submerging and surfacing often in between the top two tiers of English football, Leicester City fans weren’t that massive when it came to consider them a top club. A new low for the Foxes came during the 2008–09 season when they played in League One, the third tier of English football, after relegation from the Championship the season prior.

It was not the best time to be a City fan, but little did they all know that the long night was soon going to pass with the onset of a beautiful dawn. It all began in August 2010, when the LCFC owner Milan Mandarić sold the club to the Thai-led consortium Asian Football Investments, fronted by King Power Group’s Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

2010 was a pretty significant time in the world, the rise of the internet in the second and third world counties was rapidly gaining prominence. The World Cup that year was one of the most interesting ones where football gained a lot of fresh fans from the non-footballing regional markets. A time like this remained as a missed opportunity for a club like City, who was not strong enough yet to play in England’s top tier.

Other English clubs gained a massive boost to their already established popularity during this time. The onset of social media and other platforms in it helped the global fans become a fan of clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal. Similar things happened in the other top leagues of Spain, Germany, Italy, and France.

While these events were happening, the focus on objectives for the East Midlands side remained elsewhere. A steady rise was the main priority for the management. A proper transitioning phase was in place. The team building took a couple of seasons, a lot of decisions and recruitments helped to mold the King Power club as a stable unit.

Manager Nigel Pearson was re-appointed to propel the team back to the promised land of the Premier League. Leicester City came close but couldn’t get over the line in the 2012–13 season. In 2014, a series of favorable results elsewhere alongside their own in the Championship allowed Leicester City to clinch promotion to the Premier League after a ten-year absence.