Thirteen members of Premier League’s Leicester City Foxes arrived in Bangkok, Thailand for the funeral of their club’s owner and chairman, Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. Manager Claude Puel, strikers Jamie Vardy and Shinji Okazaki, team captain Wes Morgan and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel were among the visitors who flew the 12 hours from England on a chartered flight that left soon after their victory against Cardiff City on Saturday.

The players paid their respects during the second day of seven dedicated to the club owner’s funeral, the first three days sponsored by the Thai Royal family.

While the Thai tycoon, a man who made his riches in duty free shopping, did not live a flamboyant or public life in Thailand, he did indeed have a significant impact on the Thai psyche and may very well have a great impact on the future of Thai football.

Thai Pride: The Guardian quoted a few Thais who are grateful to what Vichai has meant to Thailand and Thai football.

“It’s Thailand’s team,” said Chatworachet Sae-Kow, a Leicester City fan in Bangkok. “It brought fame to Thailand when they won [the title]. He carried the Thai flag with him and made people know more about Thailand.

“I could feel your commitment and dedication to what you do, and the warmth and love you had for me,” said Kawin Thamsatchanan, goalkeeper for the Thai national team who plays for Oud-Heverlee Leuven – the Belgium football club also owned by Vichai. “Thank you for the opportunity and confidence in me.”

Said Anutin Charnvirakul, head of the Bhumjai Thai political party, “He is a self-made man, worked hard and loved friends dearly. We just lost someone who made big contributions to the public. I am sure his legacy will live on.”

King Power Thai Power Project: Part of Vichai’s legacy will be the ways his company has promoted football in Thailand. According to The Bangkok Post, one component of the project is “Sports Power,” in which King Power is investing 200 million baht earmarked to build artifical turf fields at an international standard at schools across Thailand, targeting 100 schools by 2022.

Additionally, the project will contribute one million soccer balls ensuring young Thais of the most important article required to play. The balls and the fields will undoubtedly contribute to the general development of the sport in the Kingdom.

Fox Hunt: King Power is also sponsoring a scholarship program for promising Thai footballers under 15 years of age. According to The Nation, King Power selects top teenage football talent. It takes a year to identify and evaluate, but the stakes are high – world-class training for 30 months at Ratcliffe College in the UK. King Power foots the bill of about Bt15 million for one player, but the potential for rapid development of their talent is great. Leicester City’s chairman, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, son of chairman Vichai, said “One of the most important experience for then will be sports science which is different from ours. They will also learn to depend on themselves too as great self disciplinary will lead them to succeed.”

Said Watcharaphong Tunkitjalorn, a 15-year-old midfielder from Suphanburi Sports School who was selected in year two of the program, “I dream of leading a Thai national team to the World Cup. It’s so hard to believe that I have been selected and I will learn as much as possible when I’m there.”

King Power and the Leicester City Foxes did not just make dreams possible in England. They are doing that in Thailand as well.