Former national cerebral palsy football team head coach Zainudeen Hassan, 50, has been appointed the new head of coach education and development of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), it was announced yesterday.

He replaces Basir Ellaya Kutty, who left the post in June last year.

Zainudeen's responsibilities include working closely with coaches from Singapore Premier League (SPL) clubs and their centre of excellence youth programmes, as well as implementing the FAS coach education syllabus.

"Coach education and development is an important part of football," he said in a statement.

"Not only does it ensure that our coaches are kept updated with the ever-changing game of football, it also aligns them in achieving the desired outcomes of our football development plans."

A former coach at the now-defunct Milo Soccer School, Zainudeen was also head of youth development for SPL club Balestier Khalsa from 2000 to 2009. He also guided the cerebral palsy team to a silver at the 2014 Asean Para Games and a bronze at the 2015 Games.

FAS general secretary Yazeen Buhari said: "Zainudeen has been actively involved in Singapore football and has a good understanding of regional football and its trends, through his roles in the AFC and the Asean Football Federation.

"Coach education and development is a key part of FAS' strategic plan and, with Zainudeen's experience and understanding of the local and regional football coaching systems, we believe he would be able to further guide and support our coaches."