Chiangrai United

The club climbed the divisions inside two years, taking the Regional League Division 2 Northern Region in its first season and the Thai Division 1 League the year after, which put it in the top flight by 2011. Three years later Chiangrai United won the Thai League 1 title, the first club outside Buriram United or Muangthong United to do so since the league's modern format began in 2009.

Brazilian striker Bill arrived in 2018 and stayed through that title run, scoring a hat-trick in the FA Cup final that year. The academy has produced its own case: Ekanit Panya came through the youth ranks, later left for Muangthong United, and went on loan to Urawa Red Diamonds, where he became the first Thai player to appear at a FIFA Club World Cup.

Games against Chiangmai United carry the weight of a Northern Derby. The team plays in yellow and black, with orange worked into recent kits, and carries the nickname "The Beetles" after the rhinoceros beetle on its crest.