Leicester Manager Steve Cooper Commemorates Former Owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha on Six-Year Anniversary

Leicester manager Steve Cooper has paid tribute to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the club’s former owner. This occasion marks six years since the chairman’s death in a helicopter crash as it departed the King Power Stadium, following a 1-1 draw with West Ham. Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, along with pilots and partners Eric Swaffer and Izabela Roza Lechowicz, also perished in the incident. Under Khun Vichai’s ownership, who acquired the club in 2011, the Foxes achieved a stunning victory by winning the Premier League in 2016, an accomplishment widely recognized as one of the greatest sporting achievements, particularly as they began the season as 5,000-1 outsiders. The subsequent season saw them reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and under the leadership of his son and successor, Aiyawatt, Leicester City secured their first FA Cup title in 2021. Cooper stated: “Even if you don’t go looking for it, you find it here [at the training ground] and at the stadium. It is a legacy isn’t it – a very much on-going legacy. “You cannot avoid it because it is everywhere. You can see why this club has achieved what it has – the Premier League, FA Cup and the Champions League. “It also goes beyond that with some of the feelings and emotions. I can see that because of the way they make you feel, you want to do so well for them.”They lead through support, encouragement and good will. There is expectation, of course, aswell – so it is not a soft leadership.”There are other aspects to the fabric of a football club and the ownership is a huge one here. I take that really personally in how I represent that.”