The FAT elections will take place tomorrow (Feb 8) at the association’s head office in Hua Mark, Bangkok, and Nualphan is seen an overwhelming favourite to take over the top job in the national football governing body, reports the Bangkok Post.
“Aug 23, 2021, is the date that I will never forget as it was the day I became the team manager of the Thai national and U23 teams. It was the most important mission for me of my 16-year-old football career,” said Nualphan, who is affectionately nicknamed “Madam Pang” by the Thai media.
“For 890 days, I had a great experience. The country’s football team really belongs to Thai people and I learned a great deal from working with a lot of people, who all wanted the best for the team.
“Today, I step down from the team manager’s post with a lot of good memories.
“I will continue to work in the best interest of Thai football regardless of the election results on Feb 8. We need to have unity among our ranks to help Thai football develop.”
Nualphan also resigned as the Chairperson of Thai League 1 club Port, she confirmed.
Besides Nualphan, Komkrit Napalai, Warong Thiuthas, Pauline Ngarmpring and Tanasak Suraprasert are the other candidates who are vying for the office of the FAT president.
Incumbent FAT chief Pol Chief Somyot Poompunmuang will relinquish his post on the election day. He is not seeking a re-election after two four-year terms in the office.
A poll conducted by Kasem Bundit University (KBU) suggests that Nualphan will receive more than 40% of the votes cast by the FAT member clubs tomorrow.
Her closest rival is expected to be Pauline with 22.50% of the vote, followed by Warong (18.89%), Komkrit (10.20%) and Thanasak (8.31%).
The KBU poll also suggested that a majority of voters (24.50%) want the new president to attach priority to restructuring the association with an emphasis on youth development.
Some 22.39% of the respondents want systematic development of national teams to top the agenda while almost 18% said the standard of domestic leagues should be uplifted.
Another major concern of the FAT voting members is the standard of refereeing with almost 17% suggesting that local officials needed improvement.
Over 14% also expressed concerns over the paucity of income for the clubs participating in the domestic leagues.
“I have listened to them [voting clubs] and I know their concerns now. We are all keen to see development of Thai football at all levels,” said Nualphan.