The chairman of the Thai club sparks controversy when mentioning Vietnamese football

Ratchaburi FC's chairman, Tanawat Nitikanchana, claimed that the Thai League is the most powerful tournament in Southeast Asia following his club's advancement to the ACL 2 quarterfinals.

Ratchaburi FC qualifies for the quarterfinals after eliminating the Indonesian representative Persib Bandung. Despite losing 0-1 in the second leg of the round of 16, Ratchaburi advanced with a 3-1 aggregate thanks to a 3-0 home victory in the first leg. This marks the first time in Ratchaburi’s history that they have reached the quarterfinals of an Asian club competition.

Thailand is also the only Southeast Asian country with three representatives remaining in the continent’s top two club competitions. Besides Ratchaburi, Bangkok United eliminated Australia’s Macarthur with a 4-2 aggregate score to reach the ACL 2 quarterfinals.

In the AFC Champions League Elite (ACL Elite), Buriram United finished fourth in the East Asia regional group after the group stage. Next, the reigning Thai League champions will face Melbourne City (Australia) in the round of 16.

Ratchaburi’s chairman, Tanawat Nitikanchana, believes this achievement reflects the leading status of Thai clubs in Southeast Asia. Tanawat wrote on his personal Facebook page: “We defeated the champions of Vietnam and Indonesia, even though we only finished fourth in last season’s Thai League 1. This proves that the Thai League is the strongest league in Southeast Asia.”

Tanawat attributes Ratchaburi’s success to their dedication in representing Thailand. According to him, the players compete like warriors, treating every minute on the field as if it were their last in continental competition.

He also mentioned that the team is further motivated by uncertainty about qualifying for the Asian Cup next season. Tanawat emphasized: “We fight because we don’t know if we can finish the domestic season in a position to qualify for next year’s ACL. The Thai League is very competitive.”

Tanawat’s statement is well-founded since the Thai League currently ranks number one in Southeast Asia. It even holds the third position in East Asia, behind Japan and South Korea. On the overall Asian ranking, Thailand stands seventh, following Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea, UAE, Iran, and Qatar. This ranking grants the Thai League one direct slot and one playoff slot for the ACL Elite, plus two direct slots for ACL 2.

Meanwhile, Malaysia (ranked 11th in AFC) has one slot for ACL Elite and one for ACL 2. Vietnam (ranked 14th) only has two slots for ACL 2. Indonesia (ranked 18th) has one playoff slot for ACL 2 and one slot in the AFC Challenge League.

In fact, Thailand has long been regarded as one of the countries with the best domestic league systems in Asia, featuring five competition levels. The amateur league is divided into 12 regions, the semi-professional league includes 38 clubs across 6 regions. The professional system consists of: Division 2 with 6 regions and 72 clubs, Division 1 with 18 clubs, and the top-tier Thai League with 16 clubs.