Songkhla FC

Songkhla Football Club
สโมสรฟุตบอลจังหวัดสงขลา
Full nameSongkhla Football Club
สโมสรฟุตบอลจังหวัดสงขลา
Nickname(s)The Samila Mermaids
เงือกสมิหลา
Founded2018; 6 years ago (2018) (new era)
GroundTinsulanonda Stadium
Songkhla, Thailand
Capacity20,000[1]
ChairmanPrayat Bunsri
Head CoachDaiki Higuchi
LeagueThai League 3
2023–24Thai League 3, 1st of 12 in the Southern region

Songkhla Football Club (Thai สโมสรฟุตบอลจังหวัดสงขลา) is a Thai semi-professional football club based in Songkhla Province, a province located in Southern Thailand. The club is currently playing in the Thai League 3 Southern region.

History

1999–2011: Early history

Songkhla F.C. (original) was established in 1999, and it then first played in the Thailand Provincial League, a former league, parallel to the Thai Premier League. In the founding year of the league, 1999, reached the eighth place in the league table.

1999–2007 Provincial League (Tier 3)
2008 Thailand Division 2 League (Tier 3)
2009–2012 Thai Division 1 League (Tier 2)

In the years after it was found mostly back in the bottom of the table regions. In 2007, the club was runner-up of the Provincial League and played the following year in the Thailand Division 2 League. Surprisingly, it was the end of the season, again winning a second place and went on to the newly formed Thai Division 1 League.

In 2009 Thai Division 1 League, they finished a creditable 7th. They fared even better in 2010 Thai Division 1 League and just missed out on automatic promotion by 2 points. Their 4th-placed finished earned them a place in the Thai Premier League play-offs. Unfortunately the Bulls couldn't maintain their end off season form and finished bottom of their play-off group.

In this 2011 Thai Division 1 League, the team have an average attendance of around 18.000, with a peak of 23.000 people at Tinsulanonda Stadium during last matches. Highest attendance Songkhla F.C. 1–1 Buriram F.C. (36,715) (7 August 2011) . Their star and top striker with 17 scores is the Brazilian Chayene Santos.

Merging: Songkhla United and Songkhla

The club was dissolved and merged with Songkhla United in 2012.[2]

2018–present: A breath of hope

2018-2019 Amateur League (Tier 4)
2020– Thai League 3 (Tier 3)

Songkhla football club was come back [3] and played in 2018 Thailand Amateur League Southern Region.

The Samila Mermaid won promotion from the fifth tier of the Thai football league system Thailand Amateur League Southern region in 2019 – beating Jantrangcee Saba Yoi City in the lower southern subregion final and beating Patong City in the southern region final. They qualified for the 2019 Thailand Amateur League championship stage as southern winner.

In 2022, Songkhla competed in the Thai League 3 for the 2022–23 season. It is their 3rd season in the professional league. The club started the season with a 2–0 home win over Wiang Sa Surat Thani City[4] and they ended the season with a 0–0 away draw with Wiang Sa Surat Thani City.[5] The club has finished 1st place in the league of the Southern region and advanced to the national championship stage. In addition, in the 2022–23 Thai FA Cup Songkhla was defeated 2–3 by Suphanburi in the second round, causing them to be eliminated[6] and in the 2022–23 Thai League Cup Songkhla was defeated 1–2 by Lopburi City in the qualification play-off round, causing them to be eliminated too.[7]

Crest

Mermaid statue at the Laem Samila beach serves as a symbol for the team

The club logo incorporates elements from the mermaid statue.[8] Mermaid comes from the story Phra Aphai Mani by Sunthorn Phu.

Stadium

Main article: Tinsulanonda Stadium
Tinsulanon Stadium

Tinsulanonda Stadium (Thai: สนามติณสูลานนท์, RTGS: Sanam Tinnasulanon) is a multi-purpose stadium in Songkhla, Thailand. Named after the Songkhla-born former Thai prime minister Prem Tinsulanonda, it is used mostly for football matches.

The stadium has a capacity of 45,000 but just 10,000 of those spaces are covered in a small single-tiered stand along one touchline. The rest of the stadium is a continuous curving tier. The stadium hosted one of the semi-finals in the 1998 Asian Games men's football tournament.

Honours

Songkhla F.C. original

Runners-up (1): 2007
Runners-up (1): 2008

Songkhla F.C. new era

Champions (3): 2020–21, 2022–23, 2023–24
Champions (1): 2019

Stadium and locations

Coordinates Location Stadium Capacity Year
7°01′13″N 100°28′18″E / 7.020194°N 100.471528°E / 7.020194; 100.471528 Hat Yai, Songkhla Chira Nakhon Stadium 25,000 2008–2010
6°44′00″N 100°41′31″E / 6.733468°N 100.691815°E / 6.733468; 100.691815 Na Thawi, Songkhla Na Thawi District Stadium 3,000 2010
7°12′26″N 100°35′55″E / 7.207222°N 100.598611°E / 7.207222; 100.598611 Songkhla Tinsulanonda Stadium 35,000 2011–2012

7°00′23″N 100°29′57″E / 7.006470°N 100.499189°E / 7.006470; 100.499189

Hat Yai, Songkhla Prince of Songkla University Stadium 4,000 2018–2019

7°12′26″N 100°35′55″E / 7.207222°N 100.598611°E / 7.207222; 100.598611

Songkhla Tinsulanonda Stadium 45,000 2020–present

Season by season record

Season League FA Cup League Cup T3 Cup Top scorer
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Name Goals
Songkhla F.C. - original
1999-00 Pro League 22 6 6 10 30 36 24 8th
2000-01 Pro League 22 4 5 13 25 54 17 12th
2002 Pro League 10 3 2 5 11 16 11 4th
2003 Pro League 22 3 6 13 26 54 15 11th
2004 Pro League 2 4 1 1 2 4 8 4 4th
2005 Suspended
2006 Pro League 2 4 1 1 2 11 7 4 3rd
2007 Pro League 4 2 2 0 7 3 8 2nd
2008 DIV2 20 11 4 5 27 17 37 2nd
2009 DIV1 30 10 12 8 32 29 42 7th R3 Thailand Witthawat Iamram 11
2010 DIV1 30 14 9 7 47 34 51 4th R2 R1 Thailand Worawet Chanuthai 12
2011 DIV1 34 15 11 8 54 39 56 5th SF R1 Brazil Chayene Santos 17
2012 DIV1 34 9 10 15 38 51 37 14th R4 R2
2013–2017 Collapsed
Songkhla F.C. - new era
2018 TA South 2 0 1 1 3 4 1 3rd Thailand Chawalit Yuthong 2
2019 TA South 5 4 0 1 15 5 12 1st R1
2020–21 T3 South 16 12 1 3 29 16 37 1st R3 QR2 Thailand Abdussalam Saman 10
2021–22 T3 South 24 14 6 4 40 18 48 3rd QR R2 Brazil Natan Oliveira 14
2022–23 T3 South 22 16 5 1 46 10 53 1st R2 QRP Brazil Jardel 18
2023–24 T3 South 22 17 5 0 46 7 56 1st TBD TBD QF
Champions Runners-up Third Place Promoted Relegated

Players

Current squad

As of 20 February 2024[9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Club staff

Position Staff
Manager Thailand Sarawut Treephan
Assistant managers Thailand Akrat Nualong
Thailand Kamnat Pana
Goalkeeping coach Thailand Prasit Nuamsala

References

  1. ^ https://www.goalzz.com/?stadium=331
  2. ^ "นิพนธ์แจงเหตุยุบสงขลารับแบกค่าใช้จ่าย 2 ทีมไม่ไหว".
  3. ^ "สงขลาเอฟซี ภาคใหม่ที่ไม่ใช่วัวชนแดนใต้คงไม่ล้อเล่นกับความรู้สึกแฟนบอล".
  4. ^ "Full Time Summary Thai League 3 Southern region matchday 1 – Songkhla v Wiang Sa Surat Thani City" (PDF). thaileague.co.th. Thaileague. 11 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Full Time Summary Thai League 3 Southern region matchday 22 – Wiang Sa Surat Thani City v Songkhla" (PDF). thaileague.co.th. Thaileague. 19 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Full Time Summary Thai FA Cup second round – Songkhla v Suphanburi" (PDF). thaileague.co.th. Thaileague. 2 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Full Time Summary Thai League Cup qualification play-off round – Lopburi City v Songkhla" (PDF). thaileague.co.th. Thaileague. 19 October 2022.
  8. ^ สงขลาเอฟซี ประกาศผลโหวตการประกวดโลโก้สโมสร ผู้ชนะผลงานไม่ธรรมดา. Gimyong new website (in Thai).
  9. ^ Songkhla. Retrieved on 4 August 2022.

External links