Origins (1916–1995) Thailand has had organized football competition since 1916, when the
Football Association of Thailand (then known as the Siam Football Association) established the first official tournament. The
Kor Royal Cup (, "Cup Kor") served as the premier football competition from 1916 to 1995, operating as a knockout tournament rather than a league system. During this 79-year period, the tournament underwent several format changes, initially featuring only Bangkok-based clubs before expanding to include provincial teams in the 1960s. The transition from cup to league format was driven by the need to modernize Thai football and meet
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) standards for professional competitions. The semi-professional nature of the Kor Royal Cup, with its limited schedule and lack of home-and-away fixtures, was seen as inadequate for developing Thai football to international standards.
Foundation (1996–2007) Thai League was introduced in 1996 by the
Football Association of Thailand (FA Thailand) under the name
Thailand Soccer League. Eighteen clubs who earlier competed for the Kor Royal Cup were registered to play in the first edition of a double round-robin league system.
Bangkok Bank was crowned as the first champion of the
1996–97 Thailand Soccer League. The Thai League originally had 10 to 12 clubs each season until
2007, when it was expanded to 16 clubs. At the end of each season, the three bottom placed clubs are relegated to the
Thai Division 1 League.
Leagues integration (2007) Most of Thai League clubs in that time were the organisation of government authorities club that based in
Greater Bangkok and Metropolitan. Meanwhile, the other local clubs had competed in the semi-pro league called the
Provincial League. Thai Premier League faced the issue of low attendance and lack of local loyalties while the Provincial league suffered the financial issue. In
2007, Thai League was integrated with
Provincial League completely.
Chonburi from the Provincial League was the first champion of the new Thailand Premier League in the
2007 season.
Modern era (2009–present) In
2009 season, there were significant changes in the lead to the new era of the
Thai Premier League.
Asian Football Confederation declared the regulations for the associations that have the intention to send the clubs to compete in the
AFC Champions League starting from 2011. Football Association of Thailand had to establish Thai Premier League Co., Ltd. and forced the clubs in the top league to complete AFC Club License Criteria otherwise Thai clubs will not eligible to play in the Champions League. Clubs were forced to separate themselves from the parent organisations and registered as the independent football authorities. The massive changes occurred in that season. Thailand Premier League renamed to Thai Premier League. Two times league champion
Krung Thai Bank failed to complete the new regulations. The organisation decided to sell the club. The club was acquired by
Boon Rawd and rebranded to be
Bangkok Glass.
Bangkok University had expelled their football club section. The club rebrand itself to
Bangkok United since then. The organisation-based clubs had to relocate to find the local supporters to backup the clubs.
Osotspa changed their home stadium to
Saraburi Province,
TOT moved to play in
Kanchanaburi,
Royal Navy played in
Rayong Province while
Thailand Tobacco Monopoly integrated to
Samut Sakhon Province and rebranded to TTM Samut Sakhon.
Muangthong United were promoted from
Thai Division 1 League in that season and won Thai Premier League in their first year in the top league.
Thailand Clasico Thailand Clasico or The Classic Match of Thailand is the matchup between
Muangthong United and
Chonburi. It is the matchup that presents Thai football in the modern era. The name was given to the encounter of two teams due to the hype and massive atmosphere around the match. The first encounter between them happened in the
2009 Thai Premier League season. On 30 May 2009, Chonburi that was regarded as the best club in Thailand at that moment hosted the new powerhouse who were just promoted from Division 1 Muangthong United. The match was played at
Nong Prue Stadium,
Pattaya. Before the match, Chonburi was the leader in the table after 10 matches of the season while Muangthong followed in second with one less point. Chonburi made the lead by 2–0 in the first thirty minutes but Muangthong bounced back to win by the 5–2 result at the end.
The first invincible In the
2012 season,
Muangthong United under
Serbian head coach
Slaviša Jokanović, had become the first club in the league history that completed the season with an unbeaten record. Muangthong finished at the top of the final standing with 25 wins and 9 draws.
Buriram dominance The Buriram Dominance refers to the 2013 to 2015 season, when
Buriram United won Thai Premier League in three consecutive seasons as the first club in the league history. The three titles in that period included two invincible titles which Buriram United completed Thai Premier League campaign unbeaten in
2013 and
2015 season.
Rebranding (2017) In 2017,
Football Association of Thailand decided to rebrand Thai Premier League into Thai League 1. Since its inception in 1996 the Thai Premier League has relied upon local sponsorship. Re-branding initiatives seek to foster an international identity for the Thai and elevate the league globally through commitment to world-class level management and marketing which incorporates multifaceted promotion through various media to draw attention to league competition and cups. This rebranding earned the Good Design Award in the Brand Identity branch from the
Japan Institute of Design Promotion. The rebranding of the Thai League from 2017 to 2023 has been well received in terms of viewership with a large number of visitors to the stadium and watching through live broadcasts but in terms of benefits, the Thai League receives royalties for broadcasting live matches at an ever-lower value after the end of season 2022-23 Thai League is only worth 50 million baht, an amount that risks collapsing the league.
Thai League Revolution (2023) On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, Kornwee Phrissanantakul, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Thai League Company Limited and Patis Supapong, Secretary General of the
Football Association of Thailand in the Royal Patronage has called a meeting of representatives of 16 Thai League member clubs to find a solution and offer suggestions after the auction to buy Thai League licenses is not as expected. The recommendation from the majority of 16 teams is for all 16 teams to manage and find benefits among themselves (
Premier League Model), which will bring information and details to the Association Executive Council meeting on Monday 3 July. On July 18, 2023, the Thai League club meeting launched the #SAVETHAILEAGUE initiative to raise funds for Thai League clubs directly from football fans by purchasing a package to watch live broadcasts directly from your favorite team to address the issue of low Thai League values. While the #SAVETHAILEAGUE campaign has yet to increase the value of the Thai League, the overall valuation of the league remains uncertain. Ultimately, the interests of the Thai League were supported by the sponsorship of three major broadcasting platforms;
TrueVisions,
AIS Play, and 3BB. In 2025, the Thai League averted the problem of its declining value when
Gulf Development, AIS, and Jasmine International (JAS) jointly secured the broadcasting rights, restoring the league's financial stability. == Sponsorship ==