Football Association of Thailand (FAT) President Somyot Poompanmuang has just revealed to the country's media about the long-term plan to bring the Thai team to the 2026 World Cup finals.
The Thai team aims to participate in the 2026 World Cup. Photo: Bangkok Post
FAT President Somyot met with Ms. Nualphan Lamsam and discussed many important issues of football. The billionaire woman nicknamed “Madam Pang” is still absolutely trusted in the role of Head of the National Teams participating in major tournaments of Thai football in the future.
The FAT President also emphasized his views to Thailand's best football player Chanathip Songkrasin on giving young players the opportunity to prove themselves in the national teams. This will help Thailand have a generation of good players to follow Chanathip, Dangda, Bunmathan in the "War Elephants".
From now on, Thailand will not use over-age players to participate in tournaments such as SEA Games or ASIAD. This is noteworthy because FAT wants to thoroughly advocate for young players to compete to accumulate for the near future.
FAT's invested players are born after January 1, 2001, eligible to participate in the 2024 AFC U23 Championship Finals, which is also the Paris Olympic qualifiers.
This generation of players will receive special care from suitable coaches and participate in systematic training campaigns... Players with remarkable professional progress will combine with the senior generation, while their ability to contribute and theoretical experience will help the "War Elephants" become a strong team.
According to the plan, the Thai national team will only be called up with the best players to participate in major tournaments that the country's fans are interested in on "FIFA Day".
In the immediate future, Coach Polking and his team will participate in the King's Cup at the end of September at home, facing Malaysia, Tajikistan and Trinidad & Tobago. After that, the Thai team will compete in the AFF Cup in December, with the goal of defending the championship. In June next year, Coach Polking and his team will participate in the Asian Cup Finals.
For the Thai U23 team, Head of Delegation "Madam Pang" will accompany the team to the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia in May, followed by the 2024 U23 Asian Qualifiers and finally the ASIAD in September.
According to VNA