Kitchee Academy is delighted to announce that Edgar Cardoso has been appointed as the Academy’s new Director of Elite Youth Football. He will take charge of coach development across the Academy, as well as reinforcing different aspects to provide effective support for elite talents.
Cardoso arrives at the Academy boasting a long and impressive career in football that has saw him spend two decades at professional level. The 40-year-old Portuguese, a Sports Science and Physical Education degree holder, began his coaching career at SL Benfica Youth Academy as U8 to U10 Head Football Coach at the age of 19 in 2002. He then employed at Aspire Academy in Qatar in 2014 where he spent 6 years working as Head Coach of U14, U15 and U18. Cardoso also took the reign at the national side as Assistant Coach of Qatar national U21 and U23 football teams in 2019 where he guided the national U23 football team to qualify for the Asian Cup a year after. Prior to joining Kitchee Academy, Cardoso also spent a few years at the Ukrainian football club FC Shakhtar Donetsk as Head of Youth, guiding several academy teams to clinch national championships. Cardoso, who is taking UEFA Pro License course in IFA, paid Kitchee a recent visit as Belgian football consultancy Double Pass Senior Football Consultant to train and share thoughts with coaches from Kitchee, including the First team, the Women’s Team, the Academies from U7 to U18.
Double Pass is a football consultancy that has worked with leagues and clubs around the globe by accessing and advising on optimizing youth talent development. Since appointing Double Pass as its football consultant in 2020, Kitchee Academy has had a significant improvement in so many possible and professional ways. With the professional support from Double Pass, along with the professional sports science and sports nutrition support from the Academy, Kitchee Academy has been certified as “Two-Star Elite Youth Academy” under the “AFC Elite Youth Scheme” by AFC.
“I’m very happy to join Kitchee, and I cannot wait to start working and getting to know more about the Club, the players, and its culture. I would like to use my experiences and knowledge to help the Club to reach to another level, as well as becoming the dominant force in Hong Kong football. We aim to develop players with quality and capacity to play for Kitchee, the Hong Kong Representative Team, and ultimately, playing on the international stage.” Cardoso expressed his excitement after his appointment.