If I recall correctly, this is probably the first live broadcast of the appointment of the head coach of Thailand's national futsal team by the Football Association of Thailand.
This marks the comeback of “Coach Mee” Rakphol Sainetngam for his second tenure as head coach of the War Elephants futsal team.
His first stint in this role was five years ago.
He was assigned to lead Thailand's national futsal team to the final stage of the 2021 Futsal World Cup in Lithuania.
He met expectations by guiding the team to the knockout round of the last 16.
Though his tenure lasted only a few months, stepping in as an interim replacement for coach José María Pazos Méndez, known as “Pulpis”,
who left the Thai futsal team abruptly.
He is the third Thai coach in history to fully take charge of the senior national futsal team.
Following “Coach Noi” Bongkarn Promphuy, the first national futsal coach who led Thailand to their debut Futsal World Cup in Guatemala in 2000,
and “Coach Ae” Pattaya Piemkum, who became head coach of the War Elephants futsal team in 2007-2008.
Considering his credentials, success, and extensive coaching experience both domestically and internationally,
it is clear that “Coach Mee” is the most suitable person to restore faith in Thailand's futsal team as quickly as possible.
This comes after the painful loss of the SEA Games gold medal on home soil to Indonesia in the final match.
Many tend to underestimate Thai coaches, doubting their skills and knowledge compared to foreign coaches.
However, I believe this is certainly not the case for Rakphol Sainetngam.
He has honed his high-level futsal expertise under top coaches like Pulpis and Miguel Rodrigo.
In 2017, Coach Mee made waves across Asia by leading Bluewave Chonburi to their second Asian club futsal championship.
In the final, the Sharks defeated Iran’s Giti Pasand 3-2, making him the first and only Thai coach to achieve this feat to date.
Then in 2021, he made history as the first Thai coach to lead Black Steel to win Indonesia's futsal league championship.
Two years later, he became the first Thai in 27 years to coach Malaysia’s national futsal team.
He achieved notable success by guiding the Yellow Tigers to qualify for the AFC Futsal Asian Cup in 2024 and 2026.
His latest achievement was leading Malaysia to a bronze medal in men's futsal at the 2025 SEA Games hosted in Thailand.
A highlight of that tournament was Malaysia’s 4-2 victory over Vietnam.
He concluded with the U19 ASEAN Futsal Championship 2025 at the Nonthaburi Provincial Gymnasium.
As head coach of Malaysia, Coach Mee led the young Yellow Tigers to a hard-fought semifinal against Thailand's U19 team.
The match was decided by penalties, with Thailand winning 8-7 after a 4-4 draw in regular time.
Malaysia finished the tournament impressively in third place.
This was a key reason why “Big Pom” Adisak Benjasiriwan, vice president of the Football Association of Thailand,
decided to bring “Coach Mee” Rakphol back to lead Thailand's national futsal team despite having several foreign coach options.
They recognized his skills and potential to manage a national futsal team at the highest level.
Having gained continuous international experience over the past six years, he is now fully matured for this role.
This means Thailand will have a high-quality, homegrown futsal figure returning to help develop and elevate the sport.
Together, they aim to build Thai futsal steadily and sustainably.
This mirrors the model of Japan’s national futsal team, which currently employs a native coach to lead the team.
I am confident that with Coach Mee’s qualifications and maturity,
he is fully prepared and that the time has come for him to step up as the leader, or “Coach Mee”,
whom we can all wholeheartedly place our hopes in!
- Bee Bangpakong -