Ninth time is the charm for Buriram
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Ninth time is the charm for Buriram

Title secured after Angels' loss

Joyous ceremony: Fifa president Gianni Infantino and FAT chief Nualphan Lamsam during the official inauguration of the FA Thailand building on Friday.
Joyous ceremony: Fifa president Gianni Infantino and FAT chief Nualphan Lamsam during the official inauguration of the FA Thailand building on Friday.

Buriram United claimed their ninth league title after second-placed Bangkok United lost 3-0 to relegation strugglers Police Tero in a Thai League 1 action on Friday night.

The Angels stayed on 58 points with just one match remaining, five behind Buriram, who were due to play their penultimate game at Uthai Thani last night.

It was the Thunder Castle's second hat-trick of top-flight titles. Their first triple came during the 2013-2015 seasons when the tournament was called Thai Premier League.

Police, meanwhile, moved up to 14th place with 28 points in the 16-team standings. However, their chance of survival looked very slim as PT Prachuap and Lamphun Warriors, both on 31 points, were set to play their 29th games last night.

Dennis Villanueva fired hosts Police ahead with a superb volley on 26 minutes. Juvhel Tsoumou doubled the lead with a 54th-minute header and Yashir Pinto made it 3-0 seven minutes from time.

"We made lots of mistakes in this game. Our players tried their best but we have to apologise to our fans." said Bangkok United coach Totchtawan Sripan. "Hats off to Police Tero, they played a great game today."

Police Tero coach Tan Cheng Hoe said, "I have to give credit to all the players for their hard work. They made our fans happy with today's performance. At the moment, we are not focused on our team's situation. We play for the victory and fight for every game."

The Angels' second position in the standings is also under threat as third-placed Port, who are on 54 points, playing their penultimate game at Ratchaburi on Sunday.

In other Thai League 1 matches on Sunday, Khon Kaen host Sukhothai while BG Pathum United visit Nakhon Pathom.

New HQ for FAT

Fifa president Gianni Infantino officially inaugurated the FA Thailand building, the headquarters of the Football Association of Thailand.

The event featured Infantino along with key figures such as Tourism and Sports minister Sermsak Pongpanich, the Sports Authority of Thailand governor Dr Gongsak Yodmani, and Football Association of Thailand president Nualphan Lamsam.

After Infantino and Nualphan signed a gold plaque symbolising Fifa's support for Thai football through the Fifa Forward 2.0 initiative, the Fifa chief was led on a tour of the new facilities by FAT general secretary Patit Suphaphongs.

The FA Thailand building, located within the Sports Authority of Thailand complex, was funded by a US$2 million grant from Fifa under the 2018-2022 Fifa Forward 2.0 budget. The three-story building includes office spaces, a VAR room, meeting rooms, and a standard futsal court.

Infantino also took part in the "Football without Boundaries" activity which gives the opportunity to young Thais to learn and practise football with former international stars such as France's Mikael Silvestre, Germany's Sami Khedira, Nigeria's John Obi Miguel.

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