Thailand women's national team headed to Chiang Mai on Friday to prepare for the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers from June 23 to July 5.
Thailand are in Group B along with India, Mongolia, Timor Leste and Iraq. They will begin the campaign with a match against Timor Leste on June 26.
The winners from the eight groups in the qualification round will join Australia (hosts), China (champions), South Korea (runners-up) and Japan (third-place) in the finals in Australia in March 2026.
Japanese head coach Futoshi Ikeda said, "We have to play four matches in our group, so we may have to rotate players. I've selected the best players available for the competition.
"The team still needs to improve. But right now our focus is on the Asian Cup qualifiers in Chiang Mai. We will try to qualify for the finals in Australia. After that, we will have time to find more players to strengthen the squad, and our target is to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil," he added.
The March 1-21 finals tournament next year will serve as the final stage of Asian qualification for the 2027 Fifa Women's World Cup in Brazil.
FAT unveils bold plan
Meanwhile, the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) has launched a strategic plan for women's football to reaffirm the goal to lead Chaba Kaew to the Fifa World Cup for the third time.
The FAT is one of the five Asian football bodies, along with Taiwan, Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Lebanon, selected by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) to join the "AFC-Uefa Women's Football Programme" to develop women's football.
FAT vice-president Yuthana Himkarun said, "Women's football is one of the most important missions for FAT president Nualphan Lamsam. Although it is not as popular as men's football, women's football is important and has brought pride to Thailand on the world stage.
"The FAT is very honoured to receive support from AFC and Uefa after being selected to join the AFC–Uefa Women's Football Programme. The plan will be used as a guideline for sustainable development from 2025 to 2029 in a campaign, "From Grassroots to Greatness" with a goal to bring our women's national team to the World Cup in Brazil," he added.
Thailand qualified for two Women's World Cups in 2015 and 2019.
Thailand are in Group B along with India, Mongolia, Timor Leste and Iraq. They will begin the campaign with a match against Timor Leste on June 26.
The winners from the eight groups in the qualification round will join Australia (hosts), China (champions), South Korea (runners-up) and Japan (third-place) in the finals in Australia in March 2026.
Japanese head coach Futoshi Ikeda said, "We have to play four matches in our group, so we may have to rotate players. I've selected the best players available for the competition.
"The team still needs to improve. But right now our focus is on the Asian Cup qualifiers in Chiang Mai. We will try to qualify for the finals in Australia. After that, we will have time to find more players to strengthen the squad, and our target is to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil," he added.
The March 1-21 finals tournament next year will serve as the final stage of Asian qualification for the 2027 Fifa Women's World Cup in Brazil.
FAT unveils bold plan
Meanwhile, the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) has launched a strategic plan for women's football to reaffirm the goal to lead Chaba Kaew to the Fifa World Cup for the third time.
The FAT is one of the five Asian football bodies, along with Taiwan, Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Lebanon, selected by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) to join the "AFC-Uefa Women's Football Programme" to develop women's football.
FAT vice-president Yuthana Himkarun said, "Women's football is one of the most important missions for FAT president Nualphan Lamsam. Although it is not as popular as men's football, women's football is important and has brought pride to Thailand on the world stage.
"The FAT is very honoured to receive support from AFC and Uefa after being selected to join the AFC–Uefa Women's Football Programme. The plan will be used as a guideline for sustainable development from 2025 to 2029 in a campaign, "From Grassroots to Greatness" with a goal to bring our women's national team to the World Cup in Brazil," he added.
Thailand qualified for two Women's World Cups in 2015 and 2019.
