On the afternoon of March 11, Ms. Madam Pang (real name Nualphan Lamsam) attended a press conference summarizing the results of activities after 1 year as President of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT).
In particular, Ms. Madam Pang expressed her disappointment in pressuring the former President of the Federation, especially the loss to Siam Sport.
The Thai Supreme Court has just lost FAT to Siam Sport Company, due to the unilateral termination of the television rights contract for tournaments organized by the federation in 2016.FAT must compensate 360 million baht, plus interest since the lawsuit was filed on February 5, 2016.
The incident occurred when Somyot Poompanmoung was Chairman of FAT for the 2016-2024 period.Mr. Somyot created a lot of debt, but the consequences are causing Ms. Pang and her colleagues to suffer.Also at the press conference, Ms. Pang exposed Mr. Somyot's weak management ability.
The female president revealed that Somyot borrowed 155 million baht from FIFA to use in the Federation's activities since 2020, forcing FIFA to deduct annual support to repay the debt by 2030. This means that even if Ms. Pang's term ends, the newly appointed federation president will continue to repay the debt to FIFA.
Ms. Pang said they will sue Mr. Somyot for debt arising under his term, especially the sudden termination of his contract with Siam Sport, leading to great losses.
"When I arrived, the federation had nothing, only debt. I just ask for sympathy, and I want to ask for encouragement from all football fans and the media," Pang said in tears at the press conference.
During his tenure, Somyot received a total salary of 1 million baht per month. Previously, the former president said he would donate back to the Federation. But Ms. Pang said that so far the accounting team has not found any evidence of refunding 32 million baht in that amount.
On her personal page, Ms. Pang added about the lawsuit decision and the next legal actions:
Usually, people think I am the one who can take care of everything. I don't want to be anyone's enemy. But in my current job, I do it mainly for the benefit of the country."
"Football is a sport that 70% of Thais watch, most of which are behind him. Therefore, I think football is a national sport. What the Federation and I will do next is not related to any personal conflict with anyone, but to protect the interests of the Federation and the State".
