Albirex Niigata’s Manami Fukuzawa named Women’s Premier League Player of the Year

SINGAPORE – When Manami Fukuzawa arrived in Singapore a decade ago, her main goal was to broaden her world view before returning to Japan to start her career as a teacher.

But the Japanese ended up staying on in Singapore, citing the multiracial and multicultural society as factors that kept her here.

The 33-year-old has also grown to love the local cuisine, with bak kut teh and chicken rice among her favourite dishes.

While working different jobs, from holding an internship with the Global Football Academy to being a receptionist at a dental clinic, Fukuzawa has been able to pursue her passion for football, even picking up sporting awards along the way.

On Feb 21, the Albirex Niigata forward was named Women’s Premier League (WPL) Player of the Year at the Amateur Leagues Awards Night Season 2024.

Fukuzawa played a crucial role in Albirex’s title push, scoring 23 goals in 16 appearances to bag the Golden Boot.

“My first intention of going abroad was to gain experience because I am a qualified teacher, so I wanted to gain experience overseas before starting my career as a teacher,” said Fukuzawa, who was also the 2022 WPL Player of the Year.

“But I ended up staying for 10 years, playing football and enjoying life.”

Held at the SportSG Auditorium, the inaugural edition of the awards celebrated outstanding individuals from the Singapore Football League (SFL 1 and 2), WPL and second-tier Women’s National League.

In the past, teams from the amateur leagues were honoured alongside those from the professional Singapore Premier League (SPL) at an annual ceremony.

However, with the SPL transitioning to the European calendar in 2024-25, while the amateur leagues continue to follow the calendar year, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) will now hold two separate awards events.

Receiving the top honour on Feb 21 came as a surprise to Fukuzawa, who paid tribute to her teammates.

She said: “I thought I was on par with the rest of the players. In the last few years, the standard of women’s football has improved, so I was not expecting this.”

It was not just Fukuzawa’s goalscoring abilities that caught people’s attention last season – her creative dance celebrations also kept spectators entertained.

These celebrations, which were requested by friends or conceptualised en route to matches, were more than just about having fun. She also hoped that they would generate more interest in women’s football.

“I perform so that the audience can enjoy it as well, so that I can bring women’s football to a higher level by entertaining the crowd,” said Fukuzawa.

But beneath her cheerful demeanour, she also had to learn to cope with putting too much pressure on herself to score goals, which led to her hyperventilating during matches, especially in crucial ones.

But she overcame it by calming down and reminding herself that her teammates would be around to support her.

With that under control, Fukuzawa will hope to bust out more celebrations in the 2025 season, as she aims to surpass her goal tally and win the WPL with Albirex, who were pipped by Lion City Sailors to the title by a point in 2024.

The 2025 WPL season, which features nine teams, will kick off on March 1 without audit firm Deloitte, which has ended its three-year term as title sponsors.

Also hoping to build on a promising 2024 is Geylang International’s Ratna Suffian, who received the Coach of the Year award.

Ratna, who joined Geylang from Balestier Khalsa in 2024, steered the team to a third-placed finish last year, a marked improvement from the 2023 season when they were second from bottom.

While they lost their first two games, their confidence gradually grew. They even inflicted the Sailors’ first defeat in over two years by beating them 2-1 in June.

But Ratna insists that it was not a solo effort, giving credit to his players, coaching team and the club’s management.

The 46-year-old said: “It was challenging because we needed to get the players to gel together. It wasn’t easy at first, we lost our first few games, but there was belief that we would bounce back.

“I saw sparks when we won our first game (against Tanjong Pagar United) and I knew that this team can turn things around and go far.”

Also recognised for her contributions was striker Farah Nurzahirah, who picked up the Young Player of the Year award after bagging 16 goals to finish the season as Geylang’s top scorer.