admin
Newly crowned English Premier League champions Leicester City received a royal seal of approval yesterday at Bangkok’s Grand Palace, with the Thai-owned team presenting its trophy to a portrait of the king before a bus parade through the capital.
The East Midlands team is currently visiting the football-mad Southeast Asian nation as part of a publicity blitz after its fairytale title triumph.
Day two of the tour focused on Thailand’s top institution with a visit to the sprawling Bangkok palace complex of the revered but ailing 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has been hospitalised for most of the last two years.
Local television showed billionaire club-owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, alongside his son Aiyawatt and manager Claudio Ranieri, presenting the trophy to a portrait of the king as they and the team then took a deep bow.
The team later went on an open-top bus parade through the capital’s notoriously gridlocked streets.
In scorching conditions — with the mercury hovering around 37C (98F) — key players including captain Wes Morgan and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel waved Thai flags and snapped pictures of each other on their phones as crowds cheered them on.
Vichai’s King Power brand, a duty free monopoly that has made him a billionaire and is emblazoned on both Leicester’s shirts and its stadium, ensured the start of the parade route was filled with employees — including a group of cheerleaders — decked out in team colours. — AFP
Online Reporter