Thai League 1
The Thai League 1 (), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from February to October, with each team playing 30 games (playing all 15 other teams both home and away). It is sponsored by Toyota Motor Thailand and therefore officially known as the Hilux Revo Thai League. In the Thai League, most of the games are played during Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played on Wednesdays and Fridays . History. Origins. Thailand has had league-football competition since 1916. Before the inception of the Thai League, the highest level of club football was the semi-professional league Kor Royal Cup () which was contested in a tournament format from 1916 to 1995. Foundation. Thai League was introduced in 1996 by the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) 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 2007 season. Modern era (2009). 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 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 match was full of the exciting and dramatic moments. Then, it was considered one of the most classic matches in Thai League history. The Muangthong versus Chonburi matchup was dubbed as "Thailand Clasico" ever since then. The first invincible. In 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, which 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 in order 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. Champions. Wins by club. The Invincibles. Unbeatable champions: Clubs. There are 16 clubs in the league, with three promoted teams from Thai League 2 replacing the three teams that were relegated from the 2020-21 season. Sukhothai, Trat and Rayong were relegated at  the end of the 2020–21 season after finishing in the bottom three places of the table. They were replaced by 2020-21 Thai League 2 champions Nongbua Pitchaya. They were joined by runners-up Chiangmai United, who also got promoted for the first time, and Khon Kaen United, promotion playoff winner which was first held in 2020–21 season. Records. All-time top scorers. Figures for active players (in bold). Most appearances. Figures for active players (in bold) . Competition format and sponsorship. Competition. There are 18 clubs in the Thai League. During the course of a season, which lasts from February  to October, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 34 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then head-to-head, then goal difference, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the head-to-head, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner. If still equal, teams  are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. The three lowest placed teams are relegated into the Thai League 2 and the top three teams from the Thai League 2 are promoted in their place. Qualification for Asian competitions. In the past the champions will play in AFC Champions League playoffs and AFC Cup for the champions of Thai FA Cup. Due to reforms from the AFC for the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup  format, there will be no more a direct qualification spot for the AFC Champions League for that Thai Champion, for the time being. From 2012 Thai clubs has 1 automatic spot to the group stage and 1 playoff spot for the Thai FA Cup Winners and 1 playoff spot for the thai league runner-up. Ranking. As of 20 October 2018 Sponsorship. The Thai League has been sponsored since 1996 until 2003 and has been sponsored again since 2010. The sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. The list below details who the sponsors have been  and what they called the competition: Match balls. The 2021–2028 season uses the Molten. Youth League. Like the reserve league, the youth league is open to all the youth teams of all professional clubs in Thailand.