Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was a different sort of owner, one who cared | David Conn

His sustained financial investment in Leicester City, awareness of the club’s emotional significance and his human touch set Vichai apart from some other overseas owners

As the awful news broke over Saturday night of the crashed helicopter in which the Leicester City owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, two pilots and as yet unnamed fellow passengers had been travelling, the emotional responses of supporters illustrated how appreciated the Thai magnate had been.

Flags, flowers and other offerings were laid outside the stadium sponsored by his duty free company, King Power, and tributes paid: to his stewardship of the club, personal munificence and philanthropy to good causes in Leicester. Towering over these qualities to claim fans’ admiration was, of course, the wildly unlikely Premier League title win of 2016, which followed sustained financial investment – Vichai spent more than £100m to bankroll the club’s 2014 promotion from the Championship. That and his human and communal touch set him apart from some other overseas investors who have made themselves unpopular since buying English clubs in a burgeoning trend after the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003.

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from Football | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/oct/28/leicester-city-vichai-srivaddhanaprabha-different-sort-of-owner