Leicester City to build statue in honour of chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha killed in helicopter crash
Leicester City are to erect a statue of late chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha outside the King Power Stadium following his death in a helicopter crash last month.
Mr Srivaddhanaprabha was killed along with two members of his staff - Kaveporn Punpare and Nusara Suknamai - pilot Eric Swaffer, and his partner Izabela Roza Lechowicz in the crash following a Leicester match on October 27.
Mr Srivaddhanaprabha's son, Aiyawatt, made the announcement about the statue less than 24 hours before Saturday's Premier League game against Burnley - Leicester's first home match since the disaster.
"We will never be able to repay what he did for us - for me as his son, us as his family, everyone connected to Leicester City and beyond - but we are committed to honouring his memory and upholding his legacy," Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha wrote in a souvenir programme for Saturday's match.
"Our continued growth as a club, our state-of-the-art new training ground and our planned stadium expansion will help realise his vision for Leicester City.
"I plan to commission a statue of my father, for outside King Power Stadium, as a permanent and fitting tribute to the man that made it all possible.
"He will forever be in our hearts. He will never be forgotten."
Earlier on Friday, Leicester begun the difficult task of moving tributes to Mr Srivaddhanaprabha - including flowers, shirts and poems - from outside the North Stand to a designated memorial area close to the accident site on the other side of the stadium.
Some tributes will be kept for a pitchside display for Saturday's match while others will be collected and preserved with the intention to incorporate them into the planned redevelopment and expansion of King Power Stadium.
Players and staff flew to Bangkok after Saturday's 1-0 win at Cardiff to attend Mr Srivaddhanaprabha's funeral and returned on Tuesday.
Boss Claude Puel admitted preparations for the Burnley game had been difficult after a 12,000-mile round trip but said it was important to the players to pay their respects.
Fans will be given commemorative scarves, pin badges, clappers and programmes on Saturday while the players will wear shirts with Mr Srivaddhanaprabha's name embroidered on.
Also at the game, a special "Tribute to Khun Vichai" video will be shown on the big screens inside the ground while thousands of fans plan to march from Jubilee Square in the city centre to the ground.
It comes after the newly named Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Foundation has raised £19,709 following an online auction.
Formerly known as the LCFC Foxes Foundation, the foundation - which has raised almost £2 million for local charities since its formation in 2011-12 - has been renamed in honour of Srivaddhanaprabha.
Jamie Vardy's boots, worn at Cardiff with "Khun Vichai" embroidered on them, went for £9,008 while a pair of Kasper Schmeichel's gloves fetched £4,000.
The use of Vardy's executive box for the Burnley game raised £6,700.