SINGAPORE – Moroccan coach Karim Bencherifa will take over the reins of the national women’s football team on a two-year contract from Wednesday, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said in a media statement on Tuesday.

The 55-year-old’s appointment, which comes four months after his predecessor Stephen Ng stepped down, means he has a month to prepare the team for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Olympic qualifiers against Thailand and Mongolia. Their following assignments are the May 5-17 SEA Games in Cambodia and the Hangzhou Asian Games in September.

FAS technical director Michael Browne said in the statement: “Karim has extensive experience of coaching both male and female teams across numerous countries.

“He also has experience of coaching and living in Singapore, which will undoubtedly be beneficial as it gives him the advantage of having a good understanding of football in the country.”

Bencherifa’s first Singapore stint came in 2004, when he coached Tanjong Pagar United.

The following year, he led Woodlands Wellington to a respectable third-placed league finish and the Singapore Cup final. He also had a spell as Warriors FC coach in 2015.

“I am honoured to take on this role of being the head coach of the Singapore women’s national team,” said Bencherifa.

“I consider Singapore as a second home and I am delighted to be back being a part of the local football community.

“The Lionesses are a team with raw potential. I am looking forward to working with the players to fully develop their technical abilities, while building up strong mental fortitude so that they can compete with the region’s best.”

Bencherifa holds the AFC professional coaching diploma – the highest qualification issued by the region’s governing body – and has coached in nine countries across four continents. His highlights include guiding Indian side Salgaocar SC to a league and cup double in 2011, earning him the Coach of the Year award. He also took charge of other Indian teams, including giants Mohun Bagan.

On the international front, he coached the first Moroccan national women’s team in 1997. He returned for another stint in 2017, when he built a youthful squad – with an average age of 24 – comprising mostly players from the Under-20 squad.

Speaking about his philosophy, Bencherifa, who is known for a disciplined coaching style, said: “Building a winning mentality does not come overnight.

“It takes dedication, commitment and, most importantly, belief in oneself as well as each other.”

He added: “I intend to focus on coming up with structured training programmes that go beyond harnessing the players’ technical abilities.

“It also involves communication by being able to understand each player’s personality and the team’s dynamic as a whole. From there, game strategies will be created to suit their level of expertise and strengths.

“While winning games is the ultimate end goal here, I want the Lionesses to firstly enjoy playing every game.

“At the final whistle, regardless of the score, they should already be looking forward to doing better for the next game. The desire to constantly want to improve must never cease.”

Lionesses captain Ernie Sulastri is looking forward to the next national team training session as she said: “Based on his extensive coaching resume, along with the fact that he has experience coaching the Morocco national women’s team, I am keen to see what he has planned for the Singapore team.

“We have three major tournaments this year, hence this appointment is vital towards enabling the team to have the best preparation possible.

“I look forward to working with him in our upcoming training sessions.”