The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) has a strong relationship with FIFA and the two organisations have been working closely together to grow the game in the country. The FA Thailand is implementing a range of FIFA development programmes across grassroots and elite football to drive long-term growth and professionalisation. Hosting this year’s FIFA Series 2026™ marks another important milestone for Thailand; it will be the first FIFA competition since the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012 was held in Thailand.

“The Football Association of Thailand would like to thank FIFA for recognising the potential of the FA Thailand and the country of Thailand in granting the rights to host the Women’s FIFA Series for the first time this year, and as the first country in the Asian continent,” said FA Thailand President Madam Pang, Nualphan Lamsam.

“Certainly, having the opportunity to host the FIFA Series helps elevate and provides benefits toward infrastructure development in Thai football across many dimensions. Especially, the improvement, upgrading of training grounds, and match venues to meet international standards, and for the opportunity to host more international-level football matches in the future. It helps girls in Thailand have inspiration and more interest in playing football. Because Thailand having the opportunity to host a women’s football tournament under FIFA shows that women’s football in the country is accepted at the international level as well.”

Thailand’s women’s national team – which has previously competed in two editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ – are hosting Indonesia, Congo DR and New Caledonia in Ratchaburi, in the west of the country. According to Madam Pang, fixtures like this are rare and provide invaluable experience.

“Because as mentioned earlier, this is a precious opportunity that FIFA has given, where the Thailand Women's National Team will get to face opponents from different continents. And it cannot be denied that another thing we expect is the quality of the tournament organisation. In addition to the training grounds and match venues that the Association has prepared very well, there is also the implementation of Thailand’s VAR technology to assist in the officiating this time, in order to make the competition of the highest quality.”

Funds from the FIFA Forward Programme played a significant role in introducing VAR in Thailand and are now being used for a new purpose. As well as benefiting the Thai League and the men's national team, VAR will now also be used in competitions involving the women's national team.

“It should also help bring more attention to women's football in Thailand and increase its popularity. All of this, we must thank FIFA under the leadership of Gianni Infantino, President of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), for the excellent concepts and vision in pushing women's football to grow more worldwide.”

The FA Thailand is also benefiting from this support, with several FIFA Women’s Development Programmes. These form part of a clear strategy that prioritises developing talent at youth and grassroots level, while also raising awareness and making the sport more accessible for girls in Thailand. Targeted campaigns are also being run to boost the visibility of women’s football and encourage participation. Another example is the FIFA Football for Schools Programme, which also helps to develop talent from an early age and contributes to gender equality.

"Every project from FIFA is important and helps develop women's football in Thailand. But one of the most important projects is FIFA TDS Talent ID, because it is considered a direct benefit to the youth. It helps girls in Thailand have the opportunity to reach their dreams and the ‘Thailand National Team’ status more. Importantly, the Thailand National Team also benefits from this in terms of the pool of female football resources,” explained the FA Thailand President, who became the first woman to be appointed Chair of the FIFA Development Committee on 7 October 2025.

“The youth sector is what the Association prioritises the highest, because it is considered an indispensable foundation for the success of the senior national team. Currently, we must also thank FIFA for initiating many projects to help support women's football. One of those is the FIFA TDS Talent ID Women’s, which the Association is also currently implementing. It is a project to scout girls from across the country in all seven regions to create a database and further develop them into the National Team, starting from the Under-17 age group. Therefore, ‘Youth’ and ‘Opportunity’ are the focus the Association prioritises the most.”

Madam Pang believes that every country in the world has the “ultimate dream” of competing in a FIFA World Cup™. She also shares this dream and hopes to see Thailand’s national team play at a World Cup one day. While the women’s team did compete in 2015 and 2019, the men’s team have never qualified.

At the same time, she emphasises that foundations must be laid first before this goal can realistically be achieved. She sees improving the system and youth development in Thailand as the highest priorities. Over the next four to five years, as President of the Football Association of Thailand, Madam Pang plans to strengthen youth development and elevate it to a new level. This will involve implementing comprehensive national youth programmes for both boys and girls.