Eight-time German champions Borussia Dortmund, also the first German club to win a European title, have announced a partnership with Thai League champions Buriram United. As part of the deal, a landmark exhibition match has been scheduled for 18 November between Borussia Dortmund’s “Legends” and a Buriram United selection team at the Chang Arena in Buriram. The clubs will also work together to develop youth players and give them the opportunity to break into their respective senior teams. (Press release appended – for immediate release)
President of Buriram United, Mr. Nevin Chidchob said, “Dortmund is one of the teams we have always admired. We like their style of play and also the way the team is organized so professionally. We have always admired the Dortmund fans who are some of the most passionate around the world, be it their songs or their cheering style. Everything they have done is always reflected on the number of tickets sold per match, with a near full capacity especially the “Yellow Wall†where only season tickets are sold. Although Buriram United has a proud history of 25 trophies in 9 years, we are still considered an incredibly young club and we look forward to having a top team such as BVB as a partner. We believe that there is much we can learn from each other throughout this partnership.â€Â
Both Buriram United and Borussia Dortmund have built very strong fan bases around their home towns, the former with their wall of fans, known in Thailand as GU12 (the 12th Man) and the latter with their “Yellow Wall†due to the mass of yellow shirts (25,000 fans). Both teams work hard with their local communities to promote the clubs’ values and both teams reward their fans by trying to play attractive open and attacking football.
A big part of BVB’s internalisation plans can be traced back to 2014 when the club opened their first office outside of Germany in Singapore, making them the first German club to set foot in the Asian market. Since then, BVB has regularly flown former players to make appearances and host training camps, while the first team have also made trips to Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and China in the past few years. The club already has a presence in Thailand having launched an academy partnership with Suphanburi Football Academy in 2016, while it also announced a partnership with Bangkok Airways earlier this year.
As well as the Legends’ game, there is the deal to work together at youth level, too. Starting from U9 and going up to U19 the clubs will discuss ways to develop youth players and give them the opportunity to press for places in the senior teams. Both teams have a similar philosophy in development as far as the use of technology, sports’ science and management in their youth programs and the procedures and techniques used by Borussia Dortmund are considered as some of the best and most forward looking in the world of football. With this deal in place, young players from Buriram United will have the opportunity to become involved in exchange programs and experience life at a top professional, European club.
