The Petition To Rename Leicester's King Power To 'The Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Stadium'

In memory of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, a fan has created a petition to rename the King Power stadium in honour of the former Leicester City owner.

The Thai businessman sadly passed away at the weekend. He was leaving the ground after Leicester's 1-1 draw against West Ham United on Saturday evening in a private helicopter when it crashed in the arena's car park.

Srivaddhanaprabha was among five people killed in the tragedy.

Stefan Guillou, who is a resident of Leicester, believes his honour should be forever immortalised in the renaming of the King Power Stadium, so he has created a petition on Change.Org to try and make a difference.

If you want to sign the petition, click the link HERE.

Image: Change.Org

Image: Change.org

Stefan told SPORTbible that without Srivaddhanaprabha's leadership, the club would have never won the Premier League, so a fitting way to thank him would be to rename the stadium:

"Well I moved to Leicester a few years ago, just before they got promoted, the buzz around the city when they did was immense." Stefan said.

"The love towards the owners was strange for me, as a Manchester United fan, I can honestly say I don't have much admiration for the Glazers."

"In a world where the Glazers and the likes of Mike Ashley bleed a club for all they're worth and then some, it's refreshing to see a man who not only invested in the club, pay off the debt but also invested in the city and the supporters of the club.

"Without this man, Leicester would likely have never won the Premier League, they wouldn't be one of the friendliest clubs around, banter aside I never really get any grief from any Leicester supporters when I'm bobbing around in my United shirt and I believe that's down to the atmosphere and family that has been created within this football club.

"Renaming the club in his honour would be a fitting way to thank this man for bringing life back into Leicester City FC."

Image: PA

Srivaddhanaprabha helped mastermind one of the greatest sporting stories of any generation, but he also gave the people of Leicester hope and goodwill in an uncertain time.

He bought Leicester in 2010 when they were struggling in the Championship and in turn, cleared their debts by loaning the club more than £100 million in the first four years.

Srivaddhanaprabha would not only pump money into the football club, but his generosity toward the city of Leicester was nothing short of incredible

He donated £1 million to Leicester University's medical department, and another £1 million to Leicester Royal Infirmary. He would also hand over £2m towards a new children's hospital - and it didn't stop there.

He memorably gave Leicester fans free beer, free scarves and free cakes during the famous Premier League title win in 2015/16 and often organised free bus travel to away games.

He was a true gentlemen of the game.

Topics: Football News, Leicester City, Football

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_