An ex-Portsmouth boss and brief Fratton Park favourite: The Woking reunion spearheading Blues’ first summer friendly
Through a footballing quirk, John Mousinho’s predecessor will be in the opposition dug-out as Pompey kick off their pre-season friendly schedule.
The Blues head to National League club Woking tomorrow evening (7pm), having returned from their seven-day Slovakian training camp on Friday afternoon.
They will encounter a Cards side whose December 2024 appointment of Neal Ardley transformed them, alongside trusty assistant coach Simon Bassey, with Aiden O’Brien among the playing squad.
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.
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