Stephen Ng appointed as new Singapore women’s national team coach

Former national shot-stopper Stephen Ng was unveiled as the new head coach of the women’s national team, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said in a statement on Sunday (Mar 7). 

The announcement coincided with the AFC Women’s Football Day celebrations, which was held at the Jalan Besar Stadium. 

Stephen, who was selected from more than 160 applicants, will helm the Lionesses for a period of two years and is set to lead them through various competitions this year. 

They include the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 Qualifiers Round 1 scheduled to take place from Sep 13 to 25, the AFF Women’s Championship 2021 in August or September, as well as the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam in November.

On his appointment, Stephen said that he sees potential in women’s football in Singapore and cited his passion towards helping to develop women’s football as a key factor in him taking up his current role at FAS. 

He also hopes to create a “prominent presence” for Singapore women’s football in the region in the years to come. 

“As a coach who is passionate about local football, being appointed as the Head Coach of the Women’s National Team represents the biggest opportunity for me to effect change and I am both honoured and proud to have been selected,” he said. 

“I can see so much potential in women’s football in Singapore, and I wanted to be able to do something about it and contribute in my own way. 

“I am looking to develop our women players so that they can compete at the regional and international level, and I also hope to be able to grow the number of women coaches with the best understanding of coaching education in order to accelerate the development of our female youth players.”

FAS Technical Director Joseph Palatsides added that he is confident that Stephen will be able to bring the women’s game in Singapore to greater heights with his vast experience. 

“I am looking forward to seeing what Stephen will offer in terms of his coaching acumen, which I believe will tie in with our overarching football philosophy,” he said.

“Our decision to include an ex-international in the FAS coaching set-up is also part of our plan to further develop capability, an important stepping stone in the  development of local football, in both the men’s and women’s games.”

An Asian Football Confederation (AFC) coach educator, Stephen is also an AFC professional coaching diploma holder, the highest level of coaching accreditation issued by the AFC. 

During his playing career which spanned 15 years, he played in the then S.League for Sembawang Rangers FC, Tiong Bahru United and Gombak United. 

Prior to his latest appointment, he had experience coaching at youth level locally, where he was the Singapore Under-14 coach in 2013. 

Stephen also spent six years at the Brunei FA where he most notably helped to develop women’s grassroots football by providing support for women’s coach education, including organising women’s grassroots school festivals and conducting coaching courses for women coaches.