The first move by the Football Association of Thailand after a complete failure at SEA Games 33

The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) called an emergency Executive Committee meeting after failing to win a single gold medal in any of the four football events at the SEA Games.

On the afternoon of December 26, 2025, FAT announced the results of the 13th Executive Committee meeting of 2025 (emergency session). According to the resolution, the Association will seek and appoint a new Technical Director from abroad, after Anthony Hudson was reassigned as the head coach of the Thailand national team. Hudson himself will also participate in the process of reviewing and selecting the new Technical Director.

This appointment aims to restructure the Association’s technical department to address and improve all the mistakes that led to the failure to achieve goals in all four categories: men’s football, women’s football, men’s futsal, and women’s futsal at the 33rd SEA Games.

The new Technical Director will work directly with Anthony Hudson, who previously held the Technical Director role, with a more proactive approach in collaboratively developing a unified coaching direction and playing style for all teams, from men’s to women’s football. Additionally, this position will be responsible for continuing the development of key projects of the Association such as the FIFA TDS Talent ID program and the U17 youth league system.

According to Thai media, Charnwit Phonchewin, the Association’s Vice President, will continue to oversee the technical sector as before. In terms of role, the Technical Director will be deeply responsible for building the foundation for national team player development, especially at the youth level. The job includes continuous analysis, data compilation, and statistical review of players’ performance on the field, as well as applying sports science methodologies.

Furthermore, the Football Association of Thailand will soon consider appointing a head coach for the men’s U20 team to prepare for the future, starting with the 2026 Southeast Asian U19 Championship in June 2026, followed by the 2026 AFC U20 qualifiers scheduled for August 2026.

This is the first major change move by the Football Association of Thailand after their comprehensive failure at SEA Games 33. Although football was the most watched sport, it became the biggest disappointment for Thailand.

Before SEA Games 33, Madam Pang confidently declared that Thailand would win all four football gold medals. However, the result was a clean sweep of no golds, only 2 silvers and 2 bronzes. Even the two final losses to Vietnam (men’s football) and Indonesia (men’s futsal) were very hard for the Thai people to accept.

This failure enraged the Thai media and continuously pressured the Football Association of Thailand. Meanwhile, the Thai public ranked the football defeat as the second most disappointing event at this SEA Games.