Sukhothai FC

Three points above the drop zone in 2020–21 was the margin between staying in Thai League 1 and going down, and Sukhothai went down. What followed said more about the club than the relegation itself: a runners-up finish in Thai League 2 the very next season, one point behind Lamphun Warriors, sent them straight back up. They have not strayed far from mid-table since, finishing 12th, 13th and 10th in the seasons after their return.

The trajectory before that had been steeper still. Sukhothai started out in 2009 in the Regional League Northern Division, then the third tier, and finished seventh of eleven in their first campaign. They won that division in 2014, went third in their debut season one level up, and by 2016 were playing in Thai League 1 for the first time. That first top-flight season brought a seventh-place finish and, more than that, the Thai FA Cup, the club's first major trophy. It also opened the door to Asia: in the qualifying rounds of the 2017 AFC Champions League, Sukhothai beat Myanmar's Yadanarbon 5–0 before Shanghai SIPG ended the run.

Nelson Bonilla top-scored in Thai League 1 with 25 goals in 2018.

In 2023 the club dropped the orange it had worn for years in favour of wine red as its main home colour, a change made, the club said, to better reflect heritage and dignity. They play at the Thalay Luang Stadium, known locally as the Fire Bats' home, in front of a capacity of 9,500.