Colum Curtis Appointed as New Kaya Head Coach Kaya FC-Iloilo instills a new head honcho to spearhead Copa Paulino Alcantara and AFC Champions League campaigns.

Kaya FC-Iloilo is pleased to announce the appointment of Colum Curtis as the club’s new head coach. The 33-year-old tactician will be leading the team alongside Yu Hoshide through the 2023 Copa Paulino Alcantara; as well as their highly-anticipated return to the AFC Champions League stage. 

“It’s fantastic to be here,” Curtis stated in an interview. “I think that we’re going to fit well together. After my first session with the players, it’s clear to see that they’re hard workers and that they’re up for the challenge—and it’s something that I’m excited about.” 

“Kaya being the biggest club in the Philippines, the [AFC] Champions League was a big draw for me to come here,” he revealed. “Of course there’s some big hitters for us to come up against, but it’s a challenge that the players and I must relish and will be up for.”

The Belfast-born tactician has garnered a reputation for his attacking mentality, his teams best known for their proactive, aggressive, and ball-dominating style of play. It was this style that has brought silverware to each and every stop so far in his first team coaching career. 

In 2019, Colum was on the staff of the Svay Rieng FC side that would go on to be crowned the Cambodian Premier League champions. A year later, he’d land the head coaching job at Visakha FC and would lead them to the club’s first major trophy—the 2020 Hun Sen Cup. Now, Colum has his sights set on continuing this winning trend in the Philippines and extending his Midas touch to the yellow & black. 

“The playing style I like to implement in a team is something that’s been ingrained in me since I was young,” explained Curtis, who fell in love with and started coaching when he was just 17-years-old. 

“I like to win. I like to win games,” he continued. “Of course, the Champions League is going to prove a bit more difficult than any games I’ve played previously as a player or a coach; but we’re not going to play just to try and survive. We want to give the fans something to get excited about.”       

Unintimidated and undeterred, the Northern Irish coach has made his lofty ambitions for Iloilo clear—especially in domestic competition.    

“Domestically, I’ve been quite clear with the players that my expectations are high. I want my teams to be aggressive in terms of dominating the ball, and also out of possession to win the ball high up the pitch,” Colum remarked. “We want to win,  and we want to do it in a very convincing manner.”  

The reigning Philippines Football League champions have a new pair of hands at the helm, a sharp young mind to steer Iloilo through their biggest challenge yet. A new voice on the sideline who’s hard at work preparing the team for what’s shaping up to be the most important four-month stretch in club history—and the show’s just about to get started.