According to Khaosod, Madam Pang directly fired coach Mano Polking and put coach Masatada Ishii on the "hot seat" of the Thai national team. It should be emphasized that she is only the female head of the Thai football team when the team competes. Meanwhile, the job of firing and appointing coaches is the responsibility of the Football Association of Thailand.
Madam Pang directly fired coach Mano Polking (Photo: FAT).
Therefore, Thai public opinion has criticized Madam Pang for "overstepping" the Football Association of Thailand to do a task that "is not hers". That makes many people implicitly understand the power of this iron lady in Thai football.
However, according to Khaosod, the Thai billionaire informed the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) about the dismissal of coach Mano Polking. The agency's senior officials gave her the power to make the decision. Madam Pang was also the one who negotiated and paid out of her own pocket to compensate the Brazilian coach.
As for the appointment of coach Masatada Ishii, Madam Pang has not yet discussed the details with the Football Association of Thailand. Therefore, fans do not know whether the Japanese coach will sign a short-term or long-term contract. The reason is that the term of the FAT officials will end in February 2024. Only after the new term begins, will the FAT finalize the contract term of coach Masatada Ishii.
Madam Pang is also the person who appointed coach Masatada Ishii (Photo: FAT).
Among them, Madam Pang is considered a strong candidate for the FAT President position. Right from this moment, the iron lady of Thai football has demonstrated her power.
Explaining the decision to appoint coach Masatada Ishii, Madam Pang said: "For the new coach position, we have carefully considered before deciding to appoint Mr. Masatada Ishii. This coach will take over the job at the Thai national team immediately.
The reason is that the team does not have much time to prepare when the 2023 Asian Cup takes place in January next year. Besides, we have 4 remaining matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Therefore, the priority of the Football Association of Thailand is to choose someone who is knowledgeable about Thai football.
Masatada Ishii has experience working in Thailand and Japan. Remember, Japan is a model team of Asian football. I believe coach Masatada Ishii is the right person for the Thai team."
According to the Thai press, the reason why coach Mano Polking was fired was because he had not met the expectations of reaching the continental level. Under his tenure, the Thai team "completely shut down" when facing stronger teams, having lost to Bahrain, Uzbekistan, Syria, UAE, Iraq, Georgia and most recently China.
The 1-2 loss to China in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup was considered the last straw that caused the Brazilian coach to lose his job.
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