The Thai national women’s football team is set to play a two match series against New Zealand’s Ford Football Ferns in April.

The Football Ferns, 30th on the FIFA rankings, will play on their home soil in Christchurch.

New Zealand are fresh off the heels of a win at the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC’s) Women’s Olympic Qualifiers. They are the 6th country to qualify for the Paris Olympics in July this year.

Thailand’s women’s team, nicknamed the “Chaba Kaew”, after the pink elephant in Khan Kluay, is the only senior Thai football team to ever qualify for a World Cup – in 2015 and 2019. They have not played a team outside the Asia region since failing to qualify for last year’s World Cup.

Thailand’s soccer history with New Zealand is short. They’ve played four games against the Football Ferns, losing three, and drawing one in 2017.

In 2023, Thailand won nine of the seventeen games they played, leaving uncertain odds for the games ahead.

This will be the first game overseen by the newly appointed female football chief Nualphan Lamsam. Two weeks ago, Nualphan became the first woman to lead the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) and the first woman in Asia to head a national football association.

She has previously managed the women’s and men’s football teams and was voted into her new role by a 93% majority.

The two matches will be played on April 6 and April 9 at the Apollo Projects stadium in Christchurch.

Story by Anisha Satya