To be held this Sunday (Feb 14) at the 4,000-seat indoor complex at Saphan Hin Park. And as it’s the first of what Club President MaAnn Samran says is going to be a regular feature for not only the club, but the whole island, it’s going to see performances from not one, but two, of the country’s biggest rock bands, Labanoon and Big Ass.
All money raised from the concert will go towards running the club for the 2016 season in Thailand’s Division 2 Southern region league, their place which was only decided on Tuesday (Feb 9) after total confusion as to what league they would actually play in.
The confusion came following an announcement that there were two vacancies to fill in the second-tier Yamaha League 1 after it was established that two clubs who qualified to compete in the elite, Thai Premier League (TPL) this season – Police United and Saraburi FC – would not be able to finance their respective teams.
Last Friday (Feb 5) the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) sent out letters to Police United and Phuket FC inviting both clubs to submit paperwork as part of the procedures for Club Licensing Administration System (CLAS), a prerequisite for competing in either of the kingdom’s two national-tier leagues, stating that either “has a chance” to qualify for the final vacancy.
It was earlier confirmed that Chiangmai FC was offered, and accepted the first vacancy in League 1, since it was the best ranked of the six clubs relegated last season.
The second spot would have been offered to Phichit FC, next in line as per rankings; however, Phichit FC reportedly declined the offer to remain in Division 1, citing the need to “rest for a year”.
Because Phuket FC was listed as the next team after Phichit on the ranking table on the TPL’s website, the club was issued the prospect through the aformentioned FAT letter.
As soon as the letter was posted on social media and went viral, fans became ecstatic, knowing that Police United would not likely qualify due to the recent news.
However, it turns out that one more club was also in contention for restoring its Division 1 status: Ayutthaya FC, who finished last season with the exact same amount of points as Phuket FC, only with a superior goal difference, and thus should have been listed in a higher ranking than Phuket FC.
After points, the head-to-head record is considered, but since Phuket and Ayutthaya had an even head-to-head record last season (each winning their respective home match), then goal difference is the next deciding factor.
Taking that as the deciding factor, the place in League 1 was given to Ayutthaya on Tuesday, and it was confirmed by Phuket FC Coach Pittaya “Odd” Phimarnman on Wednesday (Feb 10) that the Andaman Dragon would be competing in Southern Region Division 2.
The Phuket News, along with club President MaAnn Samran believe that this is the better option for the newly set out team, as having seen the club go through turbulent past seasons, the coming 2016 season is seen as a much needed fresh start for the outfit.
In addition, to compete in Division 2 will require a budget of between B10-15 million, whereas if the team were to compete in League 1 the costs would be double, if not more.
Details of the concert were announced at a press conference held at Central Festival Phuket on Monday evening (Feb 8) by MaAnn and attended by a number of club sponsors including Class Act Media, Chang and Frank Knight, and which to the surprise of those who came, also included a small acoustic set by the rock trio Labanoon.
Labanoon released their first album “Fresh Milk” back in 1999, an album which reportedly sold over one million copies in its first year of release, and since then have grown in popularity all over the country, especially in the South where the three members hail from.
Speaking exclusively The Phuket News at the press conference, Labanoon said that despite none of the group members having any direct connection to Phuket they have known President MaAnn for over 10 years and this was their reason for getting involved with the fundraiser.
The group’s lead singer/guitarist Methee Arunthee said, “We got involved with this concert because we want to help President MaAnn. He is like a member of my family. Whatever we as a group can do to help out MaAnn and the club raise the money so they compete in Division 2, we are happy to do.”
In addition, Methee said that he hopes that all residents of Phuket, be they Thai or foreign, join the concert and help Phuket FC. Labanoon and Big Ass are two of the top bands in Thailand and this is a fantastic opportunity for people to see them perform.
Tickets for the Rock It Phuket FC fundraiser are on sale now from all local municipality offices. They will also be available when Phuket FC host Navy FC at Surakul Stadium in a friendly tomorrow at 7pm.
Tickets are priced at B300 or B1,000 and VIP tickets are also available at B3,000. The concert starts at 6pm.
The Phuket News hopes to see a large number of you at both the game tomorrow and at the concert on Sunday.
The Phuket News is proud media sponsor of Phuket FC.