May 22 – First-time Barclays Premier League winners Leicester City, who did a superb job to clinch the trophy in a staggering style last season, made an abrupt visit to Yangon on 22 May, after an open-top bus parade through Bangkok city of Thailand, homeland of the club’s owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. Newly-crowned champions of English top-flight football have spent a week in the Thai capital, throwing fan meetings and promotion events, before heading to Myanmar to pay a brief visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda; Thailand and Myanmar are two neighbouring Theravada Buddhist nations with history-long close cultural and religious relations. Vichai and the club’s Italian manager Claudio Ranieri together with team players knelt in front of the pagoda with their palms clasped each other as a symbol of paying respect. Myanmar supporters greeted the squad at Yangon airport and then accompanied the visiting stars to the world-famous Shwedagon Pagoda, flocking around and taking selfies with members of the team on the cetiya’s platforms, some of them wearing Leicester outfits.
Leicester have attracted new fans outside England including other well-renowned big clubs’ traditional supporters such as Manchester United backers since their incredible title victory.
Leicester became Premier League champions after the East Midlands club completed the 2015-16 season collecting 81 points at the table, achieving their very first Premier League title as well as first title triumph in the top flight championship in the club’s history. They narrowly escaped from relegation in 2014-15 season and were given 5000-1 odds to win the title in the previous season.
Founded in 1884 as Leicester Fosse FC, Leicester City FC have got a nickname as The Foxes.
