SINGAPORE – A unique double of player and coach of the year gongs won by the same individual could be on the cards at football’s annual awards gala this season.
And this winner could come from Singapore’s Women’s Premier League (WPL). Albirex Niigata’s reigning WPL Player of the Year and the league’s Golden Boot winner Kana Kitahara will assume a dual player-head coach role for their women’s team in 2024.
While there is no official announcement on when the new campaign kicks off, The Straits Times understands it is likely to be in March.
Kitahara scored 17 goals in 13 matches for Albirex as they finished second in the 10-team competition, nine points behind champions Lion City Sailors.
The 35-year-old, who takes over from former Singapore international Nahar Daud, is aiming high for her debut on the touchline. She said through a translator: “I have never heard of the best player winner also being named best head coach. That is unprecedented. But, to be honest, this will require the effort of everyone.
“A lot of the work will be done on the training pitch but, during matches, I have good and reliable coaches with me and we will all do our best to achieve our goal of winning the title.”
Kitahara, who holds a Japan Football Association B Licence, will be assisted by former Singapore women’s team head coach Melisa Ye and ex-Singapore men’s Under-17 assistant coach Toni Teo.
Her on-field experience is unquestioned. Kitahara has played in midfield and attack for Albirex and was deployed as a defender for the Japan national team who were runners-up at the 2015 World Cup.
Albirex chairman Daisuke Korenaga said his main goal is to elevate women’s football here and that, among several Japanese players with World Cup experience, Kitahara was his first choice when he convinced her to relocate in 2022.
She was also hired on a coaching contract as the assistant of the U-17 Albirex men’s team, who competed in the Football Association of Singapore’s Centre of Excellence U-17 league, and as a coach in the Albirex Singapore Football Academy where she worked with girls and boys aged six to 17.
Korenaga said: “It was a long-term plan (to have her as our women’s head coach). Not only has she got results in the World Cup, she also has exceptional personality.
“She is earnest, straightforward and has a charismatic charm that attracts people. Personally, I believe this is the best position for her, considering her career so far.”
The Sailors will also have a new face in the dugout after promoting goalkeeping coach Daniel Ong, 34. He takes over from Yeong Sheau Shyan, who led the side to back-to-back undefeated title-winning campaigns and was WPL Coach of the Year in 2022 and 2023.
Yeong is now head of the Sailors women’s programme, tasked with ensuring the development of players from the club’s girls academy through to the WPL team.
Ong, who is also the women’s national team goalkeeper coach, oversaw his first game in charge on Jan 12 in the Sailors’ 4-2 win over second-tier Women’s National League champions Royal Arion in the Cafe Football Charity Cup 2024 at Our Tampines Hub.
The job comes with “big pressure”, he admitted, but he is looking forward to the challenge.
“I feel blessed... coach Sheau Shyan has trusted me and I want to do well. Of course, it is a big pressure given the team has been undefeated but I see this job as one where I will focus on making players better. As a team, they are good but, individually, there’s a lot to improve,” he said.
Sailors and national team midfielder Ho Hui Xin said it will not be a “drastic change” as Ong has been with the team since 2022.
She added: “In terms of the understanding of the game and the ambitions for the team, he’s pretty much aligned with, and similar to, coach Sheau Shyan.
“He understands this team is very competitive and I’m sure he’s trying to train us in the same way coach Sheau Shyan did.”
