# Jaturamitr Samakkee

The Jaturamitr Samakkee (Thai: จตุรมิตรสามัคคี, RTGS: Chaturamit Samakkhi, pronounced) is a traditional secondary school football competition played by the four oldest boys' schools in Thailand: Suankularb Wittayalai School, Debsirin School, Assumption College, and Bangkok Christian College. It is held biennially, usually in November, at Suphachalasai Stadium in Bangkok, with the schools rotating as hosts.

## Background

The first championship series was held from 16 October to 18 November 1964, with student unity as a central theme for the games. Subsequent competitions were held annually until 1985, except in 1966–1967, 1972, 1974–1977 and 1979–1980. From 1987, the competition continued on a biennial basis. It is a popular Thai football event, and outstanding players from the competition continue their careers by playing in the Thailand Premier League, including such figures as Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul and Teerathep Winothai. The event is regularly broadcast on national television, and the three latest competitions have also been broadcast via live streaming video with live scores published on an official website. In addition to the matches themselves, great efforts are made to create elaborate displays and card stunts.
Although unity has always been the central theme of the competition (jaturamitr is derived from the Sanskrit catura + mitra, meaning 'four friends' and samakkee (from Pali sāmaggī) translates as 'harmony' or 'unity'). The word Jaturamitr is often used as a catch phrase to refer to students or alumni of the four participating schools. Strong rivalries have developed between the schools. Especially intense are the rivalries between Suankularb and Debsirin and Assumption versus Bangkok Christian. This has led to several cases of inter-school violence during the weeks of the competition. The extent of the issue is such that strict audience segregation and security enforcement is required during the matches.
The latest, 30th competition, was held on 11 to 18 November 2023, hosted by Debsirin School. Suankularb Wittayalai together with Bangkok Christian College won the championship. The 31st competition will be held in November 2025, hosted by Assumption College.

## Tournaments

Jaturamitr Samakkee football match was founded in 1964 as the first year. The order of competition and host are as follows:
| Tournament | Days held | Host | 1st place winner |
| 1 | 16 October to 18 November 1964 | Suankularb Wittayalai School | Suankularb Wittayalai School |
| 2 | 19 October to 13 November 1965 | Debsirin School | Debsirin School |
| The competition was suspended In 1966 and 1967 due to the Asian Games. And Laem Thong sport hosted by Thailand, resulting in the Supachalasai Stadium not being available to host the competition. ||||
| 3 | 16 October to 1 November 1968 | Assumption College | Suankularb Wittayalai School together with Bangkok Christian College |
| 4 | 21 October to 7 November 1969 | Bangkok Christian College | Suankularb Wittayalai School together with Bangkok Christian College |
| 5 | 21 November to 30 November 1970 | Suankularb Wittayalai School | Bangkok Christian College |
| 6 | 22 October to 30 October 1971 | Debsirin School | Suankularb Wittayalai School together with Debsirin School |
| 7 | 20 October to 2 November 1973 | Assumption College | No finals |
| 8 | 18 October to 2 November 1974 | Assumption College | Debsirin School |
| But due to economic conditions And political conditions do not allow to organize the Jaturamitr Samakkee football match. Therefore stopped for a period from year 1975 to 1977 and the competition was restored in the year 1978 to prevent this football tradition from disappearing. ||||
| This competition is not counted in the competition order. | 24 October to 1 November 1978 | Bangkok Christian College But on the finals, all 4 schools have co-hosted By using Chulalongkorn University Stadium as the competition ground | Suankularb Wittayalai School |
| 9 | 28 November to 6 December 1981 | Suankularb Wittayalai School | Suankularb Wittayalai School |
| 10 | 27 November to 4 December 1982 | Debsirin School | Suankularb Wittayalai School |
| 11 | 20 November to 25 November 1983 | Assumption College | Suankularb Wittayalai School |
| 12 | 23 November to 1 December 1984 | Bangkok Christian College | Suankularb Wittayalai School |
| 13 | 1 November to 9 November 1985 | Suankularb Wittayalai School | Suankularb Wittayalai School together with Assumption College |
| Later, the committee organized the Jaturamitr Samakkee tradition football match. Have agreed that if there is a competition every year, it may be wasteful But if omitted every year, afraid that the football match will be absent It was agreed that the Jaturamitr Samakkee Football Tournament will be held every year. In the year without competition, organize the Jaturamitr football home-away competition, which is a competition using only the field in the school. ||||
| 14 | 19 December to 26 December 1987 | Debsirin School | Suankularb Wittayalai School |
| 15 | 15 December to 28 December 1989 | Assumption College | Assumption College |
| 16 | 24 December to 28 December 1991 | Bangkok Christian College | Bangkok Christian College |
| 17 | 18 December to 28 December 1993 | Suankularb Wittayalai School | Assumption College |
| 18 | 25 November to 2 December 1995 | Debsirin School | Suankularb Wittayalai School together with Assumption College |
| 19 | 13 December to 20 December 1997 | Assumption College | Debsirin School together with Bangkok Christian College |
| 20 | 11 December to 19 December 1999 | Bangkok Christian College | Debsirin School together with Bangkok Christian College |
| 21 | 17 November to 24 November 2001 | Suankularb Wittayalai School | Suankularb Wittayalai School together with Bangkok Christian College |
| 22 | 12 January to 18 January 2004 | Debsirin School | Bangkok Christian College |
| 23 | 26 November to 3 December 2005 | Assumption College | Assumption College together with Bangkok Christian College |
| 24 | 17 November to 24 November 2007 | Bangkok Christian College | Assumption College |
| 25 | 21 November to 28 November 2009 | Suankularb Wittayalai School | Bangkok Christian College |
| The 26th competition was originally scheduled for 19, 21, 23, and 26 November 2011, but there was a flood. Therefore resolved to postpone the competition to 2012 ||||
| 26 | 10 November to 17 November 2012 | Debsirin School | Suankularb Wittayalai School together with Bangkok Christian College |
| 27 | 15 November to 22 November 2014 | Assumption College | Assumption College together with Bangkok Christian College |
| The 28th competition was originally scheduled for 12, 14, 16, and 19 November 2016. But because it is in the midst of condolence for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Therefore resolved to postpone the match indefinitely Initially, the competition is scheduled for 18, 20, 22 and 25 November 2017. But later has to advance the competition day to a week earlier ||||
| 28 | 11 November to 18 November 2017 | Bangkok Christian College | Assumption College |
| The 29th competition was originally scheduled for 16, 18, 20, and 23 November 2019. But because Supachalasai Stadium has other activities besides football competitions and uses the stadium at the same time as the original period of the competition, Pope Francis Traveled to Thailand There is a Mass worshiping ceremony. For citizens on November 21, 2019, at Supachalasai Stadium The competition committee therefore resolved to advance the competition by 1 week to 9, 11, 13 and 16 November 2019. ||||
| 29 | 9 November to 16 November 2019 | Suankularb Wittayalai School | Debsirin School |
| 30 | 11 to 18 November 2023 | Debsirin School | Suankularb Wittayalai School together with Bangkok Christian College |
| 31 | Possibly November 2025 | Assumption College | |