Japan’s Shigeaki Ichikawa to Join the Football Federation of Cambodia
Shigeaki Ichikawa will be taking on FFC's Technical Director as of April 1, 2024. Photo: FFC
- By Mom Pitu
- February 17, 2024 4:12 PM
PHNOM PENH — A former technical director of the Japanese Football Club Gifu will be taking over the role of technical director of the Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC).
FFC Secretary General Keo Sareth announced on Feb. 16 that, since the federation’s former technical director Kazunori Ohara left at the end of January 2024, Shigeaki Ichikawa will be taking on this role as of April 1, 2024.
As Sareth explained, the Japan Football Association (JFA) introduced Ichikawa to the FFC so that he could use the outstanding football skills he had demonstrated in Japan to oversee the development of Cambodia’s young team.
On Feb. 15, Ichikawa met with FFC top officials including President Sao Sokha to discuss the work process, according to the FFC’s Facebook page.
As the new FFC technical director, Ichikawa will be responsible for developing the players’ performance, organizing various football-related seminars, as well as organizing training courses for coaches.
Regarding the national team, Ichikawa has discussed training programs with the coach in order to accelerate the team’s growth.
As Keo Sareth explained, at the end of his one-year contract, the FFC will work with the JFA to review and evaluate his leadership skills, vision and plans. Simply put, the FFC would be willing to extend his contract if he did a good job, Sareth said.
Kazunori Ohara stepped down as FFC technical director after having been with the club since 2015. As in the case of Ichikawa, Ohara had been recommended to the Football Federation of Cambodia by the Japan Football Association.
Originally written in Khmer for ThmeyThmey, this story was translated by Rin Ousa for Cambodianess.
