Singapore National Football Coach Takayuki Nishigaya Fired After Poor Performances
The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced on Monday (29 Jan) that it has sacked national team coach Takayuki Nishigaya.
This comes after several poor performances against countries including Thailand and South Korea, which the FAS said were “below expectations”.
The association said that it will announce Nishigaya’s successor in due course.
Takayuki Nishigaya fired following dismal results
On 29 Jan, FAS announced via a press release that it had parted ways with Nishigaya.
FAS said that they had carefully considered the move, which came after a string of performances that have been below par.
Source: Football Association of Singapore on Facebook
The news comes after Singapore came in bottom of their World Cup qualifying group last year.
Source: Google
FAS added that it believed an early transition to a fresh successor would re-energise the team.
This would also provide a longer runway for Singapore’s national football team to prepare for important matches in the coming months, as well as the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) tournament taking place at the end of the year.
FAS will announce successor in due course
FAS went on to thank Nishigaya for his work in coaching the team, stating:
The FAS would like to place on record its gratitude and thank Nishigaya for his work in Singapore and wish him every success in his future endeavours.
The association said that it will be announcing a successor in due course.
Appointed back in April 2022, Nishigaya led the national team to a 3-1 aggregate win over Guam last October during the World Cup qualifiers.
Source: Edwin Tong on Facebook
However, the team then saw a string of disappointing results, including 5-0 and 3-1 losses to South Korea and Thailand respectively.
According to The Straits Times (ST), 57-year-old Tsutomu Ogura, former assistant coach for the Japan national team, has emerged as the frontrunner to become Nishigaya’s successor.
He was assistant coach for the Japanese team from 2006 to 2010, and later assumed the same position for Japan’s Olympic team from 2010 to 2012.
Also read: FAS Seeking 10th Football Club To Join S’pore Premier League In Hopes Of Raising Standards
FAS Seeking 10th Football Club To Join S’pore Premier League In Hopes Of Raising Standards
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Featured image adapted from AFC Asian Cup.
