Thai national team players, led by coach Milovan Rajevac, paid respects to Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha yesterday before the defence of their Suzuki Cup title.
The team went to Bangkok's Wat Debsirindrawas to bid farewell to Vichai, also owner of King Power duty-free empire.
"He was an important figure who supported Thai football for a long time. Everybody wanted to come here to pay his last respects to him,'' said Rajevac. "I feel sad that we have lost an important person."
Vichai, 60, was among five people who were killed when his helicopter crashed near Leicester's King Power Stadium following an English Premier League match on Oct 27.
The billionaire bought Leicester in 2010 and helped them win the Premier League title six years later in one of the most stunning triumphs in sporting history.
A large number of Leicester players and their manager Claude Puel arrived in Bangkok on Sunday to attend his funeral after the Foxes beat Cardiff City 1-0 in the Premier League on Saturday -- a win they dedicated to the late boss.
The group, including striker Jamie Vardy, club captain Wes Morgan and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, attended the funeral on Sunday and yesterday before flying back to England.
Denmark international Schmeichel said the incident will haunt him forever after he witnessed the tragedy.
Later yesterday, Rajevac trimmed his 27-man squad for the Suzuki Cup to 23 with four players left out of the team.
The quartet are goalkeeper Kwanchai Suklom, midfielders Rattanakorn Maikami and Anon Amornlertsak, and defender Marco Ballini.
"It was difficult to cut players from the team but I had to do it,'' said Rajevac. "In fact, all 27 players are good. I believe the 23 players are good enough to become successful."
Two-time defending champions Thailand will begin their campaign for a third straight Southeast Asian title on Friday when they host Timor Leste at Rajamangala National Stadium.
The other teams in Group B are Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.
In Group A are Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. The top two teams of each group advance to the semi-finals.
