Thai Pompey Super fan amasses 90 shirts and dreams of visiting Fratton Park after 20 years supporting club he's never seen play live

Kai Sichomphu from Yala province has been following the Blues since 2004, after watching Pompey beat Liverpool 1-0 and falling in love with the club.

The now 32-year-old music video director has amassed a huge collection of Portsmouth FC merchandise, including between 80 to 90 match shirts and around 50 to 60 scarves and flags.

Kai has no idea how much his vast collection is worth, and he has no intention of selling a piece; however, he estimates that he has spent somewhere between £2,500-£3,000 on it in total.

The Pompey fanatic said: “I first discovered Pompey when watching a game on TV in February 2004, it was the match between Portsmouth and Liverpool at Fratton Park with Pompey winning 1-0 thanks to Richard Hughes’s winner.

“I immediately fell in love with the passion from the players and fans around the stadium, and the atmosphere was so amazing.

“I'll never forget that night, I distinctly remember falling in love with TY's heart-shaped sponsor on the chest, it’s a funny reason, but I was just a kid at the time”, admits Kai.

“There are so many things that connected me to the club, from the vibes at Fratton Park to the great-looking shirts and the amazing fans who are always singing chants very loudly until the end of the game.”

For many, Kai’s love of Pompey may seem like a strange one as lots of football fans from overseas tend to support larger, better-known clubs; however, this wasn’t a concern of Kai’s.

He said: “At that time I didn't know which team was small, but famous or popular, I just chose by my kid instinct and it was always Pompey- I didn’t care what position the team was in the table.

“But then, watching live football wasn't easy in Thailand back then, especially teams that are not popular in the country, it's very difficult.”

Despite Kai’s long-established passion for Pompey, his impressive collection didn’t start until the team reached the FA Cup final in 2008.

Kai explained: “Back in 2008, after we won the FA Cup, I bought the 2007/08 home shirt as well as some second-hand shirts.

“It wasn’t until after Covid-19 eased up that I opened up my closet and found three or four old Pompey shirts. I’m not sure why, but it gave me the inspiration to build my Pompey shirt collection again.

“In Thailand, the trend of collecting and wearing football shirts is becoming popular again, which is great, but it also makes the Pompey shirts more expensive to get hold of.

“In total, I have around 80 to 90 Pompey shirts, about 50 to 60 scarves and flags, as well as countless match day programmes.

“I have many favourite Pompey shirts like the 1991-93 Goodmans shirts,1993-95 shirts produced by Asics, the TY sponsor shirts and the OKI shirts by Canterbury.

“It's really difficult but if I had to choose just one, my favourite would be the 1997-99 KJC home and away shirts product by Admiral, especially the away shirts with yellow colour its look so classic and beautiful, the pattern and watermark on shirt so amazing, you can see crescent moon and stars all over the shirt.”

However, not all of Kai’s friends and family initially understood or approved of his Pompey-mania obsession.

“In the early days when I started collecting shirts, my family didn't really approve”, Kai admitted.

“They were concerned with the amount of money that I was spending as well as the amount of time it was taking me to research and track down vintage shirts.

“But, when my family see my effort and passion for the club, they began to accept and understand my hobby, because the thing that I do has never hurt anyone, except my own wallet!”

From the club's meteoric rise in the 2000s to its catastrophic fall through the football Leagues and their current resurgence, Kai has followed it all from over 7,000 miles away.

“When I was young, I watched the team very often, maybe every home game.

“In those days, football was televised very late for Thailand, usually just after midnight, which meant I’d be pretty tired for school the next day, but I didn’t care, it was worth it for me.”

Kai has now been a Pompey fan for over two decades and has many great memories of the club and its players.

He added: “Throughout my time following Pompey, there have been many players I like. I started watching after 2004, so my favourite players are from around that period like Yakubu, Benjani and Pedro Mendes.

“I have many favourite players from over the year,s such as Nwankwo Kanu, Niko Kranjcar, Papa Buaba Diop, Sulley Muntari, Defoe, GlenJohnson, Kaboul, Sylvain Distin and Peter Crouch, but I have to say, my most favorite Pompey player of all time would have to be David James.

“I’ve loved the goalkeeper position since I was young, and he is charming when he is on the pitch and produces miracle saves after miracle saves, as well as his leadership being so powerful.”

The 32-year-old’s love of Pompey has given him many friends over the years who also support the club online, who have made him feel closer to the club.

“I have many Pompey friends on Facebook, and we have a Facebook page and group named ‘Portsmouth FC Thailand supporters’, and we have many Pompey fans living in Thailand who get together and watch the games in one place.”

However, despite being a Pompey super fan, Kai has never managed to see a Pompey game in person or visit Portsmouth, let alone Fratton Park.

This has been a long-held dream of his and something that he plans to make a reality in the future.

Kai admitted: “I work hard every day to visit my dream theatre of Fratton Park.

“It would be wonderful if I could be there for a match, it would be a day I'll never forget for the rest of my life.

“I hope it will happen soon, if nothing goes wrong. I'll have many stories to tell my children and grandchildren someday.”