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BANGKOK, THAILAND - BRITAIN'S ambassador to Thailand presented new Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva with a Newcastle United football shirt on Monday to mark the Thai leader's links with the city of his birth.
At a formal ceremony of congratulations, ambassador Quinton Quayle handed over the famous black-and-white striped shirt complete with the number 27 - because the Eton and Oxford-educated Mr Abhisit is Thailand's 27th premier.
'He is a fan of Newcastle United football club, so today I presented a gift of a Newcastle United shirt with number 27 on the back,' Mr Quayle told reporters at the headquarters of Abhisit's Democrat Party.
Mr Abhisit - known to friends by the western name Mark - was born in the north-east English city of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1964 while his parents were studying in the city.
He once reportedly said in an interview that 'If I wasn't me, I would like to be a Newcastle United striker.'
It is not the first link between a Thai premier and the English Premier League.
Ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in September completed the sale of Manchester City to an Abu Dhabi group led by Sheikh Mansour Zayed al Nahyan.
Thaksin, who was toppled in a military coup in 2006, is currently living in exile at an undisclosed location following the revocation of his British visa in November.
A government led by Thaksin's allies was dissolved by a court order on Dec 2 after months of protests, allowing then opposition-leader Mr Abhisit to come to power on Dec 15 with help of defectors from a pro-Thaksin party. -- AFP
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