Graham Harvey: Kaya’s New Head Coach Kaya FC-Iloilo instills a new head honcho ahead of AFC Champions League run.

A new voice will be calling shots from the sideline when Kaya FC–Iloilo travel to Thailand to play in the AFC Champions League Preliminary Round Knockout on June 23.

The club is pleased to announce  Graham Harvey as the club’s Head Coach for the highly anticipated match against China’s Shanghai Port, and all other potential matches in Asia’s most prestigious club competition. Despite being in Brisbane, Graham has already started collaborating with coaching mainstay Yu Hoshide. Together, the pair will look to mastermind Kaya’s gatecrashing of the Champions League Group Stage.

“It’s a huge honor, just to be given this chance is an amazing thing for me,” Harvey stated. “I’m really hopeful working with Coach Hoshi (Yu Hoshide) and all of the squad, that we can achieve our goal to try and go through to the Champions League knockout stages.”

Although based in Australia for many years, Graham is originally from Watford, a town located just outside of London. Like many who grew up in England, he lived and breathed the game of football. He went on to play semi-professionally in England, before enjoying stints in Australia and Singapore. He switched over to the coaching track relatively early, and quickly amassed a wealth of experience.

Although still just 36, Graham already boasts over a decade of nurturing talent, ranging from youth players to high level senior team members. He’s currently Technical Director for NPL Queensland club Redlands United, while also serving as Assistant Coach for the Chinese U-16 Women’s National Team and the Guam Men’s National Team.

His previous coaching stops include Eastern Long Lions FC of the Hong Kong Premier League, as well as Australian clubs Brisbane Strikers FC, Whitsunday Miners, and most notably Western Pride FC who won the 2017 NPL QLD Championship with him at the helm.

Back in England, Harvey got his Masters of Sports Coaching at Loughborough University. Around that same time, he served as the U13 Academy Coach for Notts County FC and Rotherham United FC as well as the Education Coordinator for Leicester City FC and Derby County FC.

To add to his credentials, Graham holds a coach educator position with Football Federation Australia, a role that led to his mentorship of former Kaya midfielder Richard Greer. That relationship made Harvey easy to find when the search for the new coach arrived.

When describing his intended approach for Kaya, the incumbent Head Coach had this to say.

“Our style is definitely going to be one of making sure that we are intense without the ball. We’ll work really hard to get it back and maintain our shape, and then when we do get the ball, we’re in a position to be able to counterattack as quickly as possible.”

He added, “I think it’s very important that we go [to Thailand] with a nice, positive mindset. Obviously we’re coming out of that lockdown period, so Coach Hoshi and the boys are working very hard to make sure that fitness levels are up there and that we get some match preparation.”

Coach Harvey’s first match for Kaya will be the single most important fixture in club history to date. An upset over Shanghai Port would mean entry to the Champions League Group stage, a level yet to be experienced by any Philippine club. Ahead of the massive challenge, his message is simple.

“Get behind the boys, and get behind the coaching staff,” said Harvey in a statement for the fans. “Everybody’s doing their very best in the challenging circumstances that we have to make sure that we represent our club and all of the fans to the best of our ability.”