Madam Pang becomes president of the Football Association of Thailand

Billionaire Nualphan Lamsam won 68 out of 73 votes to become president of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) and is the first woman to lead an Asian national football federation.

The FAT General Assembly met on the afternoon of February 8 to elect a new president, after Mr. Somyot Poompanmoung's term ended. Besides Madam Pang, there are three other candidates competing for the vacant seat. One is Ms. Pauline Ngarmpring, a famous politician in Thailand, who ran for Prime Minister of Thailand in the July 2023 election. The other two names are Mr. Worawong Vitthawan - former spokesman of Thai-League, and Mr. Thanasak Surprarasert - a politician.

Former President Somyot (left) presented flowers and congratulated Madam Pang - his successor - after she took over as leader of Thai football. Photo: FAT — Former President Somyot (left) presented flowers and congratulated Madam Pang - his successor - after she took over as leader of Thai football. Photo: *FAT*

With her reputation and continuous contributions to Thai football, Madam Pang won overwhelmingly. This 56-year-old female billionaire received 68 out of 73 votes, reaching 93%, to become the 18th president in the history of FAT and the first woman to head Thai football.

Madam Pang is a familiar face and has made a great contribution to the development of Thai football over the past decade. From 2015 to 2019, she was the head of the Thai women's football team participating in the 2015 and 2019 World Cups. After that, Madam Pang was the head of the Thai men's football team that won the AFF Cup 2020 and 2022. Recently, she and the Thai team competed successfully at the Asian Cup, becoming the only Southeast Asian team to pass the group stage and then stop in the round of 16.

In addition, Madam Pang is also the President of Port FC, which plays in the Thai League. But to run for the position of FAT president, she resigned as president of Port FC, transferring all management rights of this club to family members.

After being elected, the new FAT president Madam Pang set a goal of upgrading the Thai League to become a continental quality tournament. She also harbored the ambition of bringing Thai football to pass the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia.

Duc Dong

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