Foxes supremo is honoured by University of Leicester for successful club stewardship
Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha at Tuesday's graduation.
Leicester City Football Club’s chairman has been recognised by the University of Leicester for his successful stewardship of the club.
Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws during a graduation ceremony, held at De Montfort Hall, in Leicester, today (Tuesday 16 July).
Top became CEO and chairman of duty free retailer, King Power, and Foxes chairman in 2018, succeeding his late father, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
Under Top’s chairmanship, the Foxes lifted the FA Cup for the first time in their history in 2021. They also performed well in international competition, reaching their first European semi-final in the UEFA Europa Conference League. In the Championship last year, Leicester City sat at the top of the league table for most of the thrilling 2023-24 season, before securing an automatic return to the Premier League. Top and the players celebrated with a parade through the city in open-topped buses emblazoned with the motto ‘Straight back up’.
Top said: “I am truly grateful to receive this honour from the University of Leicester – an institution of our city that shares our commitment to excellence, service to our communities and positive social change.
“Its work with Leicester City on the Professorship in Child Health is a collaboration of which we are extremely proud and demonstrates the power of community stakeholders working together for the benefit of future generations.
“My congratulations to all of this year’s graduates on their outstanding achievements, which are the result of years of dedication to their respective fields of expertise. I hope their time in the city of Leicester has taught them that everything is possible.”
Educated at St Gabriel’s College, Bangkok, Top has a BA in Business Administration from Bangkok University. A devout Buddhist, he was ordained as a monk at Thepsirin Buddhist Temple in Bangkok for a month in 2015. He is also an experienced and successful polo player, winning gold at the British Open and Queens Cup in 2015, and silver at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.
King Power is a leading duty-free retailer. As well as its investments at airports in Thailand, the company also owns MahaNakhon, a Bangkok development that includes one of Thailand’s tallest skyscrapers.
The University strengthened its ties with Leicester City when it received generous funding from the club to establish the LCFC Professorship in Child Health and associated Programme of Research. The donation is being used to fund research that aims to improve the health of Leicester’s children, both today and in the future.
The University of Leicester conferred an Honorary Degree on Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in January 2016, before the football club’s famous against-the-odds Premier League victory. In honouring Top, the University is also honouring his father and everything that the Srivaddhanaprabha family has done for both Leicester City FC and the city of Leicester.
President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester, Professor Nishan Canagarajah, said: “The Srivaddhanaprabha family’s impact on the city of Leicester can not be underestimated. Their commitment to Leicester City Football Club goes beyond the investment they’ve made on the pitch, with the family setting up the Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Foundation, which works with Leicester-based causes to build support and develop the local community.
“Top has embraced the tough task of taking on his father’s stewardship of the Foxes, and his leadership and love for his adopted city is clear to see. The Srivaddhanaprabha legacy is safe in Top’s hand, and I am delighted to officially welcome him to the University of Leicester family.”