Coach, player, singer: Ex-Arsenal forward Mihoko Ishida is new Singapore women's football coach
The Lionesses have a new head coach in former Arsenal Women FC forward Mihoko Ishida, whose appointment was announced by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) on Sunday (April 5).Ishida 43, has had a glittering playing career. She joined Arsenal Women FC, then known as Arsenal Ladies, in 2003 after impressing during a college tour of England, going on to win the Premier League and FA Cup.She returned to Japan in 2006 to play for JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies, before retiring from football in 2009 to focus on her music career.Ishida became coach of Sfida Setagaya FC in 2019, guiding them from the bottom half of the second division, to second place.In 2022, she joined Nippatsu Yokohama FC Seagulls as its coach and later director.Asked about her decision to take the role in Singapore, Ishida pointed to the opportunity to be part of something still being built.«One of the reasons I chose Singapore is the opportunity to take on challenges together as a group. It's not something already completed — there is a strong appeal in building something from the ground up,» she said.