Thailand is a football-crazy country and 2024, which is drawing to a close, had more than its fair share of stories to keep the local fans of the sport engrossed throughout the year.
While there was plenty of excitement on the field, developments off it also made headlines.
Some unexpected results at the top Asian tournament to a historic Football Association of Thailand (FAT) presidential poll all accounted for things that not many had anticipated.
Here is a look at the important events that made the departing year so exciting:
Nualphan Lamsam addresses the media after her victory in the FAT presidential election. PR
Hopes weren't very high when the Thai national team, under their newly appointed head coach Masatada Ishii, jetted off to take part in the biggest Asian tournament, the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, which was postponed from last year to Jan 12-Feb 10, 2024.
Thailand, making their eighth appearance in the event, were in tough Group F with Saudi Arabia, Kyrgyzstan and Oman.
The War Elephants had set themselves the target of making it to the round of 16 of the tournament, and two goals by Supachai Chaided that sealed a 2-0 win over Kyrgyzstan in the opener suddenly made their dream look plausible.
A goalless draw against Oman in the second game, followed by another 0-0 tie against Asian football powerhouse Saudi Arabia took the Thais to the knockout stage as the runners-up of the group.
Although their dream run ended at the last 16 stage following a 2-1 loss to Uzbekistan in an exciting tussle, the team and coach Ishii earned praise for putting on an impressive show.
Buriram United players celebrate with the Thai League 1 trophy in May.
Five candidates joined the race to take over the FAT president's office from outgoing national football chief Pol Gen Somyot Poompunmuang. They were Nualphan Lamsam, Pauline Ngarmpring, Komkrit Napalai, Warong Tiewthat and Tanasak Suraprasert.
While Nualphan, affectionately nicknamed Madam Pang by the Thai media, was always the frontrunner, the margin of her landslide victory went beyond all expectations.
Nualphan received a record 68 votes from 73 FAT member clubs to become the first-ever woman -- not just in Thailand but in the whole of Asia -- to be elected as the head of a national football governing body.
Thailand in action against France in the last 16 round of the Fifa Futsal World Cup. PR
Nualphan's first major test came in May this year when Bangkok played host to the 74th Fifa Congress with more than 3,000 delegates from 211 member associations attending the event at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.
Thailand became the first Asean country and only the fifth in the Asia-Pacific region after Japan, South Korea, Qatar and Australia to serve as a host of this prestigious event.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino presided over the Congress and chiefs of all six continental governing bodies also attended the meeting.
The main item on the Congress agenda was the selection of a host for the 2027 Fifa Women's World Cup and the winner was Brazil.
The writing was on the wall for the Thais after they lost their first 2026 World Cup qualifying game 2-1 to China at home. A victory away at Singapore in the next game failed to appease the Thai fans and Mano Polking's run as the national team coach came to an end.
In came Ishii and the Thais braced for back-to-back tests against South Korea, the seeded team in their group.
Ishii oversaw an impressive performance as the War Elephants held South Korea to a 1-1 draw but a 3-0 home defeat to the Asian giants the following week further eroded Thailand's chances of progressing to the final stage of Asian qualifiers.
In their last two group games, Thailand drew 1-1 with China in Shenyang and defeated Singapore 3-1 at home, bowing out of contention for a place in the 12-team final stage.
Ishii vowed to bring the prestigious King's Cup back to Thailand and delivered on his promise.
Held in Songkhla province, the War Elephants dominated the Philippines 3-1 in the first match to make it to the final.
Syria edged Tajikistan 1-0 in the other game to earn a shot at the title.
Ekanit Panya and Chanathip Songkrasin won the hearts of a 25,000-strong crowd at the venue as they helped Thailand earn a 2-1 victory over Syria and ended a long King's Cup title drought.
After winning the King's Cup, Thailand had two more warm-up matches to help them prepare for the defence of their AFF Asean Cup title.
In the first warm-up game in November, the Thais were held to a goalless draw by Lebanon before managing another 1-1 stalemate against neighbouring Laos.
When the Asean Championship 2024 kicked off on Dec 8, champions Thailand made their intentions clear with 10-0 drubbing of Timor Leste.
They went on to edge Malaysia 1-0 at home on Dec 14 and scripted a fantastic comeback from two goals down, securing a 4-2 victory in Singapore three days later to seal top spot in Group A.
They finished their quota of group stage matches with a 3-2 home victory over Cambodia on Dec 20.
There was plenty of action for the futsal (five-a-side) fans.
The Kingdom hosted the AFC Futsal Asian Cup in April and booked their place in the Fifa Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan by reaching the semi-finals.
Thailand won their Group A games against Vietnam (2-1), Myanmar (5-0) and China (3-1) to reach the quarter-finals. They edged Iraq 3-2 next to book their place in the semi-finals, and a 6-5 shootout victory over Tajikistan after a 3-3 stalemate took them to the final.
They were eventually beaten 4-1 by mighty Iran and had to settle for second spot in the tournament.
At the Fifa Futsal World Cup in September-October, Thailand were in Group B with Brazil, Cuba and Croatia. Thailand started off with a 2-1 win over Croatia, then defeated Cuba 10-5 but lost 9-1 to Brazil.
France proved too strong for the Thais, eliminating the Southeast Asian side 5-2 in the last 16 stage.
Buriram United won the Thai League 1 trophy for the 10th time at the end of 2023-2024 season in May this year. The Thunder Castle won 20 matches, drew nine and lost just one throughout the season.
Bangkok United with 17 wins, 10 draws and three losses were second followed by Port with 16 wins, nine draws and five defeats.
The three bottom teams that were relegated were Chonburi, Police Tero and Trat. They were replaced in the ongoing 2024-2025 Thai League 1 by Nakhon Ratchasima, Nongbua Pitchaya and Rayong.
While there was plenty of excitement on the field, developments off it also made headlines.
Some unexpected results at the top Asian tournament to a historic Football Association of Thailand (FAT) presidential poll all accounted for things that not many had anticipated.
Here is a look at the important events that made the departing year so exciting:
Nualphan Lamsam addresses the media after her victory in the FAT presidential election. PR
Hopes weren't very high when the Thai national team, under their newly appointed head coach Masatada Ishii, jetted off to take part in the biggest Asian tournament, the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, which was postponed from last year to Jan 12-Feb 10, 2024.
Thailand, making their eighth appearance in the event, were in tough Group F with Saudi Arabia, Kyrgyzstan and Oman.
The War Elephants had set themselves the target of making it to the round of 16 of the tournament, and two goals by Supachai Chaided that sealed a 2-0 win over Kyrgyzstan in the opener suddenly made their dream look plausible.
A goalless draw against Oman in the second game, followed by another 0-0 tie against Asian football powerhouse Saudi Arabia took the Thais to the knockout stage as the runners-up of the group.
Although their dream run ended at the last 16 stage following a 2-1 loss to Uzbekistan in an exciting tussle, the team and coach Ishii earned praise for putting on an impressive show.
Buriram United players celebrate with the Thai League 1 trophy in May.
Five candidates joined the race to take over the FAT president's office from outgoing national football chief Pol Gen Somyot Poompunmuang. They were Nualphan Lamsam, Pauline Ngarmpring, Komkrit Napalai, Warong Tiewthat and Tanasak Suraprasert.
While Nualphan, affectionately nicknamed Madam Pang by the Thai media, was always the frontrunner, the margin of her landslide victory went beyond all expectations.
Nualphan received a record 68 votes from 73 FAT member clubs to become the first-ever woman -- not just in Thailand but in the whole of Asia -- to be elected as the head of a national football governing body.
Thailand in action against France in the last 16 round of the Fifa Futsal World Cup. PR
Nualphan's first major test came in May this year when Bangkok played host to the 74th Fifa Congress with more than 3,000 delegates from 211 member associations attending the event at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.
Thailand became the first Asean country and only the fifth in the Asia-Pacific region after Japan, South Korea, Qatar and Australia to serve as a host of this prestigious event.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino presided over the Congress and chiefs of all six continental governing bodies also attended the meeting.
The main item on the Congress agenda was the selection of a host for the 2027 Fifa Women's World Cup and the winner was Brazil.
The writing was on the wall for the Thais after they lost their first 2026 World Cup qualifying game 2-1 to China at home. A victory away at Singapore in the next game failed to appease the Thai fans and Mano Polking's run as the national team coach came to an end.
In came Ishii and the Thais braced for back-to-back tests against South Korea, the seeded team in their group.
Ishii oversaw an impressive performance as the War Elephants held South Korea to a 1-1 draw but a 3-0 home defeat to the Asian giants the following week further eroded Thailand's chances of progressing to the final stage of Asian qualifiers.
In their last two group games, Thailand drew 1-1 with China in Shenyang and defeated Singapore 3-1 at home, bowing out of contention for a place in the 12-team final stage.
Ishii vowed to bring the prestigious King's Cup back to Thailand and delivered on his promise.
Held in Songkhla province, the War Elephants dominated the Philippines 3-1 in the first match to make it to the final.
Syria edged Tajikistan 1-0 in the other game to earn a shot at the title.
Ekanit Panya and Chanathip Songkrasin won the hearts of a 25,000-strong crowd at the venue as they helped Thailand earn a 2-1 victory over Syria and ended a long King's Cup title drought.
After winning the King's Cup, Thailand had two more warm-up matches to help them prepare for the defence of their AFF Asean Cup title.
In the first warm-up game in November, the Thais were held to a goalless draw by Lebanon before managing another 1-1 stalemate against neighbouring Laos.
When the Asean Championship 2024 kicked off on Dec 8, champions Thailand made their intentions clear with 10-0 drubbing of Timor Leste.
They went on to edge Malaysia 1-0 at home on Dec 14 and scripted a fantastic comeback from two goals down, securing a 4-2 victory in Singapore three days later to seal top spot in Group A.
They finished their quota of group stage matches with a 3-2 home victory over Cambodia on Dec 20.
There was plenty of action for the futsal (five-a-side) fans.
The Kingdom hosted the AFC Futsal Asian Cup in April and booked their place in the Fifa Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan by reaching the semi-finals.
Thailand won their Group A games against Vietnam (2-1), Myanmar (5-0) and China (3-1) to reach the quarter-finals. They edged Iraq 3-2 next to book their place in the semi-finals, and a 6-5 shootout victory over Tajikistan after a 3-3 stalemate took them to the final.
They were eventually beaten 4-1 by mighty Iran and had to settle for second spot in the tournament.
At the Fifa Futsal World Cup in September-October, Thailand were in Group B with Brazil, Cuba and Croatia. Thailand started off with a 2-1 win over Croatia, then defeated Cuba 10-5 but lost 9-1 to Brazil.
France proved too strong for the Thais, eliminating the Southeast Asian side 5-2 in the last 16 stage.
Buriram United won the Thai League 1 trophy for the 10th time at the end of 2023-2024 season in May this year. The Thunder Castle won 20 matches, drew nine and lost just one throughout the season.
Bangkok United with 17 wins, 10 draws and three losses were second followed by Port with 16 wins, nine draws and five defeats.
The three bottom teams that were relegated were Chonburi, Police Tero and Trat. They were replaced in the ongoing 2024-2025 Thai League 1 by Nakhon Ratchasima, Nongbua Pitchaya and Rayong.
