Billionaire heiress Madam Pang wants to recruit more naturalized players for Thai football

Madam Pang (R) shakes hands with Vietnam head coach Kim Sang-sik after the ASEAN Cup final at Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok on Jan. 5, 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Hieu Luong

Speaking to Thai media after the ASEAN Cup final on Sunday, Madam Pang, president of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), said no decision had been made regarding the future of head coach Masatada Ishii. However, from her perspective, this is not the position that needs replacement.

She emphasized that the immediate task is resolving the ongoing conflict between the national team and Thai League clubs, which has affected the power of the squad in this year’s tournament.

Since the ASEAN Cup is not scheduled during the FIFA international break, clubs can refuse to release players for the national team.

"This result is a valuable lesson for us to sit back and discuss," Madam Pang said. "Every tournament of the national team is important. We must implement changes to ensure the best conditions for the national team."

Madam Pang also highlighted the need to improve the national team’s quality by adopting a policy that is getting popular in Southeast Asian countries which is using naturalized players. She said Thailand will actively search for players of Thai descent playing abroad as well as naturalized players like Vietnam’s Brazilian-born striker Nguyen Xuan Son.

"We need to actively identify players of Thai heritage playing abroad and explore naturalization opportunities for other talented players," she added.

Thailand has already been in contact with several players in Europe, including Erik Kahl, a Thai-Swedish left-back and Jude Soonsup-Bell, a former Chelsea youth team striker. Soonsup-Bell, 20, now playing for Spanish second-division side Córdoba, has represented England at various youth levels and is the second-highest scorer in the history of the U16 England team, behind only Jadon Sancho.

"Many countries are adopting the policy of naturalizing players from Europe with top experience," Madam Pang added. "I’ve spoken with the president of the Football Association of Indonesia about how this policy has been a success in their World Cup qualifying campaign. If we commit to this, we can improve our achievement."

Thailand lost 3-5 on aggregate to Vietnam after a 2-3 defeat in the second leg of the final at Rajamangala Stadium. This marked the first time Thailand had lost back-to-back matches against Vietnam and ended their hopes of securing an eighth ASEAN Cup title and a historic third consecutive championship.

On social media, Madam Pang apologized to the fans and expressed gratitude to the supporters who filled 47,000 seats of Rajamangala Stadium. She hopes that the fans would keep their trust, especially when the national team are possessing many potential young players that promise to shine in future tournaments.

Madam Pang, 57, is a businesswoman, politician and scion of one of Thailand's wealthiest families. She is also a prominent figure in Thai football, having played pivotal roles in both men's and women's teams over the past decade.

Under her leadership, the women’s national team participated in the 2015 and 2019 World Cup, while the men’s team secured back-to-back ASEAN Cup titles in 2020 and 2022. As president of Port FC, she has also helped the club become a force in the Thai League.

In February 2024, she made history as the first woman elected as the 18th president of FAT, winning the majority of votes.