 | ||||
| Full name | Buriram United Football Club สโมสรฟุตบอลบุรีรัมย์ ยูไนเต็ด | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Thunder Castle (ปราสาทสายฟ้า) | |||
| Short name | BRU | |||
| Founded | 1970; 56 years ago (1970), asProvincial Electricity Authority Football Club 2010; 16 years ago (2010), asBuriram PEA Football Club 2012; 14 years ago (2012), asBuriram United Football Club | |||
| Ground | Chang Arena Buriram, Thailand | |||
| Capacity | 32,600 | |||
| Chairman | Newin Chidchob | |||
| Head coach | Mark Jackson | |||
| League | Thai League 1 | |||
| 2024–25 | Thai League 1, 1st of 20 (champions) | |||
| Website | www | |||
 Current season | ||||
Buriram United Football Club (Thai:สโมสรฟุตบอลบุรีรัมย์ ยูไนเต็ด) is a Thai professionalfootball club based inBuriram. The club has played at the top level of Thai football for the majority of their existence and competes in theThai League 1. The club was founded in 1970 asPEA Football Club (Provincial Electricity Authority Football Club), before being reformed asBuriram PEA andBuriram United in 2010 and 2012 respectively. Their home stadium isChang Arena which has a capacity of 32,600.[1] Buriram United is considered one of the best football clubs in the Southeast Asia region history.
Buriram United won their firstThai League 1 title in 2008 and theKor Royal Cup in 1998, as PEA. The club was previously based inAyutthaya before moving east to Buriram for the 2010 season. In the 2011 season, Buriram became the first team in Thailand football history to win all the domestic trophies, as the treble champions (2011 Thai Premier League,2011 Thai FA Cup, and2011 Thai League Cup). Buriram then went on to win five domestic treble in the 2011, 2013,2015,2021–22 and2022–23 season where the club went undefeated in the league during the 2013 and 2015 season.
Buriram United has won an incredible record of 11Thai League 1 title, 7Thai FA Cup and 8Thai League Cup, 2Thailand Champions Cup and 3Kor Royal Cup. Regionally, the club also won 1ASEAN Club Championship in their inaugural revamp competition.
Buriram United is by far the most popular and successful Thailand football club, with millions of fans from across the country. Polling shows that it is also the third most popular football club in terms of supporters in Thailand overall behindPremier League clubsLiverpool andManchester United.[2] As of 2024, Buriram United has an estimated market value of €12.83 million.[3]
The club was founded in 1970, but their first big success came in 1998 by winning the third division of theKor Royal Cup. The club was then promoted to theThai Division 1 League. In 2002–03 the club finished third in the second division. They then competed theThai League 1 Relegation play-off, but lost the final match 0–1 toThailand Tobacco Monopoly. A year later, they succeeded at the end of season 2003–04 with promotion to the Thai Premier League.PEA surprised everyone by becoming the league runner-up at the end of their first Premier League season. Being the runner-up entitled the club to participate in theAFC Champions League. It was the first participation in an international competition for the club. However, the club was excluded from the competition.[4] In the following two seasons, 2006 and 2007, the PEA finished 10th and 8th.
In 2008Provincial Electricity Authority relocated toAyutthaya and played atAyutthaya Province Stadium, where they gained a bigger fan base. The club played under the nickname ofFaifa Ayutthaya (Electric Ayutthaya) from media and its fans. Under the head coachPrapol Pongpanich, PEA eventually won their first league title inThai League 1. The club qualified for the2009 AFC Champions League preliminary round.
In 2009, PEA was eliminated from the2009 AFC Champions League after losing 1–4 toSingapore Armed Forces in extra-time atRajamangala Stadium. PEA began their title defence campaign of theThai Premier League with some poor performances. Prapon Pongpanich was sacked in the middle of the season and replaced by former Thailand national team head coachThongsuk Sampahungsith. The club finished in ninth place out of sixteen in the final standings.
In December 2009, it was announced that a politician based inBuriram,Newin Chidchob was to take over the club. He had already tried unsuccessfully to take overTOT SC andRoyal Thai Army[5] Newin relocated the club toBuriram inIsan and rebranded it toBuriram PEA Football Club. Buriram PEA inherited most of the players from the former PEA club including the stars likeRangsan Viwatchaichok,Apichet Puttan andTheerathon Bunmathan.Pongphan Wongsuwan who was a long-time head coach ofTOT SC was instated as a coach. Thailand national team memberSuchao Nuchnum of TOT SC also followed his coach to the new team.
Buriram PEA finished their first season after the transition as the runner-up of the2010 Thai Premier League. The club reached the final of the2010 Thai League Cup but lost 0–1 toThai Port atSupachalasai Stadium.
In 2011, Buriram PEA under the head coach ofAttaphol Buspakom, completed their 2011 season with the domestictreble by winning all three Thai major trophies. Buriram won2011 Thai Premier League with 85 points, the highest record in the league history. They beat the arch-rivalMuangthong United in the2011 Thai FA Cup final and clinched their firstThai FA Cup title. Following the success in two other competitions, Buriram avenged theirprevious year League Cup final defeat against the same opponent,Thai Port, and won the2010 Thai League Cup. Buriram PEA became the first Thai club to win the treble in a season.
Buriram's stadium "The Thunder Castle", was built in 2011 – when it became the first Thailand football stadium without a running track on the side of the field and it was also recorded in the Guinness World Records as the FIFA standard football field with the shortest construction time of 256 days.[6]
At the start of the 2012 season, the club was renamed Buriram United Football Club. In the first match of the group stages of the2012 AFC Champions League, Buriram beat the2011 J-League champion,Kashiwa Reysol, 3–2 and became "the first Thai and South East Asian club" to earn a victory against aJ-League club inACL since starting the Champions League system in 2003.[7] In the second match, Buriram was the visiting team against the2011 CSL Champion,Guangzhou Evergrande. Buriram also became "the first Thai and South East Asian club" to earn a victory against a Chinese club "in China" after beatingGuangzhou Evergrande 1–2 inTianhe Stadium fromSuchao Nuchnum andFrank Acheampong's goals.[8] That match was the end of a two-year unbeaten home record for Guangzhou.[9]
In 2014, under Spanish head coachAlejandro Menéndez, Buriram United became the first Thai club to achieve thequadruple by winning 4 trophies in the calendar year. The campaign included the titles ofKor Royal Cup,Thai League T1,Thai FA Cup andThai League Cup. The league season was also finished with the first invincible title for the club, the second Thai team to have achieved such a feat, afterMuangthong United in2012.
In 2014, Brazilian coachAlexandre Gama was appointed to guide Buriram United and in his first season, he helped the club to retained the2014 Thai Premier League. The following season, he guided Buriram United to, once again, winning all four of the competitions in the 2015 calendar year :2015 Kor Royal Cup,2015 Thai Premier League,2015 Thai FA Cup,2015 Thai League Cup and also the2015 Mekong Club Championship.
Moreover, the 2015 Buriram United won the2015 Thai Premier League with an unbeaten record. The Brazilian forwardDiogo Luis Santo broke the top scoring record with 33 goals from 32 games and receivedThai League T1 Top Scorer andPlayer of the Year Awards at the end of the year andTheerathon Bunmathan got top assists with 19 assists from 32 games in left back position. In 2016, Gama guided the club to win the2016 Toyota Premier Cup and2016 Kor Royal Cup before he stepped down as the club coach on 22 May 2016.
In August 2016, club owner Newin Chidchob admitted he was disappointed that his team's bid to defend their league title that season was over.[11] Buriram United then appointed SerbianRanko Popović as the club manager to fill the vacant role after the dismissal of Iranian head coachAfshin Ghotbi[12] and former coachBožidar Bandović returned as the technical director of the club.
In June 2017, Ranko Popović has resigned as head coach after receiving a three-month ban by theThai FA for slapping the face ofBangkok United physio Andy Schillinger following a heated argument after Buriram United beat the capital side 2–1.[13] Buriram United announced that they promoted Božidar Bandović to head coach from his position as technical director of football.[14] In the same year, the club won the2017 Thai League 1 and created history by claiming 86 points - the club's highest points in a single season.[15]
In 2018, after finishing as champions in the 2017 season, Buriram secured direct qualification into the2018 AFC Champions League. In the group stages, a home, Buriram beat Japanese clubCerezo Osaka 2–0 and Korean clubJeju United 1–0 and drew 1–1 with Chinese clubGuangzhou Evergrande. The club lost 4–3 on aggregate in the round of 16, against Korean sideJeonbuk Hyundai Motors.[16] In the same year, Buriram comfortably retained the2018 Thai League 1 title with a record 87 points.[17] Bozidar Bandovic receivedThai League 1 Coach of the Year Award at the end of the season.
On 1 December 2021, Buriram appointed Japanese head coachMasatada Ishii. In his first season, Buriram won the2021–22 Thai League 1,2021–22 Thai FA Cup and the2021–22 Thai League Cup. The following season, Buriram managed to retain all their three trophies, including the2022–23 Thai League 1,2022–23 Thai FA Cup and the2022–23 Thai League Cup, becoming the first club to retain all of the possible trophies in the country.[18]
In preparation for the new season, in which Buriram will also compete in the2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite and the recently revived2024–25 ASEAN Club Championship region tournament, the club signed Philippines goalkeeperNeil Etheridge, who has played in theEnglish Premier League withCardiff City. Buriram also signed a few notable key players like former Australian nationalCurtis Good. Buriram were then drawn in a group alongside Vietnamese clubCông An Hà Nội, Singaporean clubLion City Sailors, Malaysian clubKuala Lumpur City, Philippines clubKaya—Iloilo and Indonesian clubBorneo Samarinda. On 17 September 2024, Buriram managed to hold off Japanese clubVissel Kobe to a goalless draw at home, with both teams earning a point in the AFC Champions League Elite. Buriram registered the highest ever victory in the ASEAN Club Championship history, beating Philippines Kaya—Iloilo 7–0, withLucas Crispim scoring a hat-trick in the match on 26 September. Buriram United then travelled to Australia to faceCentral Coast Mariners on 1 October in the AFC Champions League Elite fixture, where Buriram United came out victorious in a 2–1 win. On 15 January 2025, Buriram recorded their highest win in the top flight division where they thrashedChiangrai United 8–0. Four days later, Buriram broke their own record by thrashingKhon Kaen United 9–0.Suphanat Mueanta recorded a hat-trick of goals and assist, andMartin Boakye scored a hat-trick in the game as well. Buriram then qualified to the semi-finals of the
ASEAN Club Championship as runners-up with three wins, one draw and one loss in the group stage. In the AFC Champions League Elite, they finished in sixth place, thus facing Southeast Asian rivalsJohor Darul Ta'zim. Both teams contested in two draws in the same edition of the tournament until another away fixture at theSultan Ibrahim Stadium on 11 March, where Suphanat Mueanta scored the only goal in the match, which sent the team to the quarter-finals of the tournament inJeddah. Buriram United was then drawn againstSaudi Pro League clubAl Ahli in the quarter-final but lost to them 3–0 thus bowing out from the tournament. Buriram United then focus on the knockout stage of the ASEAN Club Championship facing against BG Pathum United defeating them 3–1 on aggregate thus advancing to the final. In the first leg of the final, Buriram draw 2–2 against Công An Hà Nội. In the second leg, as Buriram United was losing 2–0 which all hopes seem lost,Peter Žulj scored in the 83th minute to give the club a glimpse chance to fight back until the 90+8th stoppage time whereLucas Crispim scored the equaliser to send the match to extra time.Guilherme Bissoli scored a penalty in the match but Buriram United was unavailable to defend a 118th minute header from the opponent which put the aggregate at 5–5 thus sending the team to penalties shootout. GoalkeeperChatchai Budprom went on to make an impact and save 3 penalties making Buriram United the champions of the 2024–25 ASEAN Club Championship. Lucas Crispim ended up winning the tournament 'Best Player' award and Chatchai Budprom for winning the 'Best Goalkeeper' award.
During the draw of the2025–26 ASEAN Club Championship on 4 July 2025, Buriram United was then draw in Group A alongside league rival,BG Pathum United, Vietnamese clubCông An Hà Nội, Malaysian club,Selangor and Singaporean clubTampines Rovers.
| 2021–22 season | 2022–23 season | 2023–24 season | 2024–25 season |
Buriram United vs.Muangthong United inThai League
| Overall | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 18 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 23 | 14 | +9 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 7 | +4 |
Buriram United's main rival isMuangthong United. The two clubs are the powerhouses ofThai League 1 (T1). The rivalry between two clubs has become highly competitive, since they are the only two clubs that have won theThai League 1 championship since the 2009 season.
| Season | Attendance | Total attn. |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 15,008 | 255,129 |
| 2012 | 15,319 | 260,415 |
| 2013 | 18,941 | 303,054 |
| 2014 | 19,132 | 363,514 |
| 2015 | 19,553 | 332,412 |
| 2016 | 15,547 | 248,760 |
| 2017 | 13,890 | 236,137 |
| 2018 | 13,000 | 221,003 |
| 2019 | 13,558 | 203,374 |
| As of 8 November 2019[19][20][21][22][23] | ||
Buriram United and Muangthong United also represent widely different groups of supporters. Buriram represents the mostly rural people of the Thai countryside, while Muangthong United symbolizes the urban people in theBangkok Metropolitan Region. Their rivalry also reflects political differences inFootball Association of Thailand (FAT) since Muangthong United has the close relationship with FAT under the management ofWorawi Makudi, while former politicianNewin Chidchob became the polar opposite and frequently questions the transparency of FAT.
The games between the two teams are regarded as an important match-up in Thai football. Buriram has dominated the rivalry head-to-head and maintained an unbeaten record against Muangthong for a long time after the club relocated to Buriram. The phrase "Rather lose to anyone but Muangthong." (Thai lit. แพ้ใครก็ได้ แต่ไม่แพ้เมืองทอง) became a famous quote for fans. Their unbeaten record against Muangthong was broken in2016 Thai League when they lost 0–3 to their rival at home.
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Chang Arena is a 32,600 seaterfootballstadium inBuriram,Buriram Province,Thailand.[24] The Chang Arena is the second-largest football stadium in Thailand. Its nickname is "Thunder Castle". Buriram United has led the 16 team in the Thai League for a record in attendance since their move to the new stadium.
The Chang Arena is in the Mueang Buriram District, located about 3KM southwest of central Buriram along highway 2445. The 150-acre site has a capacity of 32,600 people with parking for 800 cars and buses, plus 3,000 motorcycles. The pitch is floodlit, allowing for night matches. The stadium houses locker rooms for home and visiting teams provides modern medical facilities and live television and radio broadcasting infrastructure.[25]
Buriram United opened its first youth academies in 2011. The club is particularly famous for its renowned youth program that has produced many Thai talents over the years[26] –Suphanat Mueanta,Supachok Sarachat,Ratthanakorn Maikami, andAnon Amornlerdsak have come through the ranks. Buriram United also regularly supplies the Thai national youth teams with local talent. Buriram youth academies play in theThailand Youth League.
The "CP-Meiji Cup U-14 International Championship" is a famous youth program that is held atChang Arena and Elephant Ground, between October–November every year,[27][28] with six youth teams from Thailand's leading academies and six youth teams (Aspire Academy,[29]Jubilo Iwata, Mokhtar Dahari Academy).
In 2018, Buriram United appointedAndrew Ord as head of youth development,[30] thecoach who gaveChanathip Songkrasin his youth team debut atBEC Tero Sasana.[31] He replaced BrazilianJose Alves Borges.
List of Buriram United jersey since their interceptions in 2010
| Year | Kit manufacturer | Main sponsors |
|---|---|---|
| 2011–present | In-house production |  Chang |
| AFC Champions League Kit | ||
| 2011–2016 | In-house production | Chang |
| 2018 | Warrix | |
| 2019–2021 | Ari | |
| 2023–2024 |  Kelme | |
| 2024–present | Ego | |
Dortmund is one of the teams we have always admired. We like their style of play and also the way the team is organized so professionally. We believe that there is much we can learn from each other throughout this partnership.
Borussia Dortmund (2018–present)[33][34][35]
Leicester City (2020–present)[37]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| President | Newin Chidchob |
| Team Manager | Boriphat Soonrod |
| Head coach | Mark Jackson |
| Assistant coach |  Cameron Toshack |
| Goalkeeper coach |  Zoran Mijanovic |
| Physical & Fitness coach | Rob Morledge Marko Prentovic |
| Team analyst |  Jordan Manning Thomas Richard |
| Manager of Academy Team | Chonchanok Chidchob Jitravuth Chatchaipholrat Masayuki Miura |
As of18 January 2026.
| Rank | Player | Years | Club appearances |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Siwarak Tedsungnoen | 2010–2025 | 455 |
| 2 | Narubadin Weerawatnodom | 2015–present | 339 |
| 3 | Supachai Chaided | 2017–present | 335 |
| 4 | Theerathon Bunmathan | 2009–2016, 2021–present | 315 |
| 5 | Ratthanakorn Maikami | 2016–present | 304 |
| 6 | Pansa Hemviboon | 2016–present | 297 |
| 7 | Sasalak Haiprakhon | 2017–present | 287 |
| 8 | Jakkaphan Kaewprom | 2011–2022 | 258 |
| 9 | Chitipat Tanklang | 2012–2024 | 222 |
| 10 | Suchao Nutnum | 2010–2019 | 221 |
| Rank | Player | Club appearances | Total goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Diogo | 139 | 119 |
| 2 | Supachai Chaided | 335 | 102 |
| 3 | Guilherme Bissoli | 106 | 85 |
| 4 | Supachok Sarachat | 204 | 49 |
| 5 | Suphanat Mueanta | 188 | 48 |
| 6 |  Javier Patiño | 84 | 43 |
| 7 | Goran Causic | 126 | 42 |
| 8 | Jajá Coelho | 40 | 38 |
 Andres Tuñez | 207 | ||
| 10 | Carmelo González | 66 | 37 |
FC Seoul (23 February 2016)
Al Ahli)List of former Buriram United managers (2001–present)
Key to honours:
| Name | T1 | FA | LC | CC | AFF | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masatada Ishii | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Alexandre Gama | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Attaphol Buspakom | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Osmar Loss | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Alejandro Menéndez | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
 Božidar Bandović | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Jorginho Campos | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Prapol Pongpanich | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ranko Popović | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 11 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 32 |
| Champions | Runners-up | Third Place | Promoted | Relegated |
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| Country | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 040.00 |
 Cambodia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 100.00 |
 China | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 28 | 24 | +4 | 045.00 |
 Indonesia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 100.00 |
 Iran | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 000.00 |
| Japan | 19 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 38 | −22 | 010.53 |
 Laos | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 050.00 |
 Malaysia | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 050.00 |
 Maldives | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 100.00 |
| Philippines | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | +13 | 100.00 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 000.00 |
 Singapore | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 040.00 |
| South Korea | 23 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 20 | 35 | −15 | 026.09 |
| Thailand | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 033.33 |
 Uzbekistan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 050.00 |
 Vietnam | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 13 | −2 | 014.29 |
| Total | 100 | 34 | 29 | 37 | 126 | 138 | −12 | 034.00 |
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