In what will probably be welcomed by Singapore football fans, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced on 29 January that it has parted ways with national Lions coach Takayuki Nishigaya.
His contract was due to run out in April, and served on the hot seat for 21 months.
In a statement posted on its website, the FAS said that “the timing to effect this change was also reached after careful consideration.”
“The recent performances and results of the National Team have been below expectation, and the FAS believes that an early transition to a fresh successor would re-energise the team and allow a longer runway for the National Team to prepare for important matches in the next few months and the year-end AFF tournament.”
The FAS said that the new coach will be announced in due course, with Japanese media outlets already having speculated that Tsutomu Ogura is Nishigaya’s replacement.
Ogura was a Tokyo Verdy assistant coach until very recently.
During Nishigaya’s tenure, the Lions did not show any improvement in their performances, and are still hovering in the top 160 in the FIFA rankings.
His last two matches in charge saw the Lions lose 5-0 to Korea Republic, and were also subsequently beaten 1-3 by Thailand in a home match at the National Stadium.
Both were Lions’ Group C World Cup qualifiers.
Nishigaya also failed to take Singapore to the 2023 Asian Cup finals even though he stated it was his target and led the Lions to an early exit at the group stage at the 2022 Mitsubishi Electric Cup.
When announced as the national coach in April 2022 as replacement for Tatsuma Yoshida, Singapore. football fans had already started questioning the decision to appoint Nishigaya as the national coach, given his lack of experience and the fact that he had never coached outside of Japan.
The decision has set Singapore football back by another two years.
MAIN PHOTO: FAS
