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Madam Pang encourages Thai players at the awards ceremony after they drew 2-2 with Vietnam (2-4 defeat in aggregate) in the second leg of the ASEAN Cup final at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi on Aug. 26, 2026. Photo by Read/Duc Dong |
Madam Pang made history as the FAT’s first female president and the first woman to lead a national football association in Asia. Prior to her presidency, she dedicated over 15 years to Thai football, notably serving as team leader for the men’s squads that won the AFF Cup in 2020 and 2022, and leading the women’s national team to the 2015 and 2019 World Cup.
However, her tenure as the FAT president has been marked by multiple final failures. At the national team level, Thailand suffered back-to-back ASEAN Cup final defeats to Vietnam in 2024 and 2026. The 2024 campaign ended with a 2-3 aggregate loss, while the 2026 edition concluded with a 2-4 aggregate defeat. In between, Thailand lost to Iraq in the final of the 2025 King’s Cup.
Most recently, they fell to Indonesia in the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup final on Monday night, losing on penalties following a dramatic 2-2 draw after 120 minutes.
At the U23 level, Thailand also squandered a 2-0 lead and lost 2-3 against Vietnam at the 33rd SEA Games on home soil. In futsal, the women’s team lost the 2025 Southeast Asian Championship final to Vietnam, and both the men’s and women’s futsal teams later suffered defeats at the 33rd SEA Games, including a heavy 1-6 loss to Indonesia for the men. Additionally, the U19 team dropped finals to Indonesia in 2024 and Australia in 2026.
Despite the failures in finals, Thai football has achieved notable progress under Madam Pang’s leadership. The national team have climbed the FIFA ranking from 101st in 2024 to their current position of 93rd.
Off the pitch, Madam Pang guided the FAT to win the 2025 FIFA Forward Award, recognizing the association’s effective utilization of funds to develop infrastructure, VAR systems, and referee training.
The FAT earned the Asian Member Association Award at the Diamond level for two consecutive years in 2024 and 2025, becoming the first association to achieve this feat.
Madam Pang’s influence has also expanded globally. She currently serves as chairperson of the FIFA Development Committee, a core standing committee of FIFA where she is responsible for coordinating and managing investment programs, as well as providing financial and technical support to FIFA’s 211 member associations worldwide.
Madam Pang, 60, real name Nualphan Lamsam, is a fifth-generation member of the Lamsam family, one of Thailand’s wealthiest. She is currently the chairwoman and CEO of Muang Thai Life Assurance, one of Thailand’s top insurance firms, and serves on the boards of at least 16 companies, primarily in real estate.