Singapore national team head coach Tatsuma Yoshida will step down in late December 2021. (The Jakarta Post/mothership.sg)
T
atsuma Yoshida will stand down as head coach of the Singapore national team at the end of the month to spend more time with his family in Japan, the Football Association of Singapore has announced.
The move comes after the Singaporeans were eliminated from the regional Suzuki Cup tournament at the semi-final stage by Indonesia on Saturday and brings to an end Yoshida's two-and-a-half year tenure.
"This was not an easy decision for me to arrive to and a part of me wishes that I did not have to make it at all," Yoshida said in a statement, quoted by Reuters.
The association also said Yoshida is leaving his role to spend time with his family back home in Japan amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Kyodo News reported.
"The last two years have not been easy for me and my family given the travel restrictions that were in place as a result of the pandemic."
The 47-year-old managed Kashiwa Reysol, Albirex Niigata and Ventforet Kofu in the J-League first division before taking charge of Singapore in June 2019.
They went out in the second round of the Asian qualifying round for the 2022 World Cup after finishing fourth out of five teams in Group D, won by Saudi Arabia.
"This was not an easy decision for me to arrive at and a part of me wishes that I did not have to make it at all," Yoshida said in a statement.
"I leave behind my second 'family' here with an extremely heavy heart. I have always trusted and had full confidence in these players, my boys, and I know they have the potential to be among the region's best as long as they continue to believe in themselves."
The 47-year-old took over as Singapore coach in June 2019, having previously worked with Japanese clubs Kashiwa Reysol and Albirex Niigata.
Singapore will begin the search for a replacement next month, ahead of June's qualifying rounds for the 2023 Asian Cup.