Jaturamitr Samakkee
The Jaturamitr Samakkee (Thai: จตุรมิตรสามัคคี, RTGS: Chaturamit Samakkhi, pronounced [tɕàtùʔrámít sǎːmákkʰīː]) is a traditional secondary school football league played by the four oldest boys' schools in Thailand, namely: Suankularb Wittayalai School, Debsirin School, Assumption College and Bangkok Christian College. It is held biennially, usually in November, at the Suphachalasai Stadium in Bangkok, with the schools rotating roles as host. In addition to the matches themselves, a great amount of attention and preparation is given to the elaborate audience displays and card stunts performed by each school.
The first championship was held during 16 October–18 November 1964, with student unity as a central theme for the games, and subsequent competitions were held annually until 1985, except in 1966–67, 1972, 1974–77 and 1979–80. From 1987, the competition continued on a biennial basis. It is a popular event of football in Thailand, and many outstanding players from the competition continue their sports career by participating in the Thailand Premier League, such figures including 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 the official website.
Although unity has always been the central theme for the competition (Jaturamitr is derived from the Sanskrit catu + mitra, meaning four friends and Samakkee (RTGS: samakkhi) translates as harmony or unity), a strong element of rivalry has developed among the schools. This is usually paired as Suankularb against Debsirin and Assumption against Bangkok Christian, and has led to multiple cases of inter-school student 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 25th competition was held on 21–28 November 2009, hosted by Suankularb Wittayalai School. Bangkok Christian College won the championship.
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[edit] References
- ความเป็นมา (History), Jaturamitr official website, 4 November 2007, http://www.jaturamitr.com/history/, retrieved 2009-02-14. (Thai)
- Kamonmaitrichit, Chatchawan (ชัชวาล กมลไมตรีจิตต์); Loetwutthisakun, Raphiwat (ระพีวัฒน์ เลิศวุฒิสกุล) (1 November 2007), ""จตุรมิตรสามัคคี" ฤาชื่อจะเหลือเพียงตำนาน (Jaturamitr Samakkee - soon to be but legend?", Manager Daily, http://www.manager.co.th/Daily/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9500000129999, retrieved 2009-02-14. (Thai)
