Lionesses goalkeeper Izairida Shakira looks for progress in Thailand

SINGAPORE – When Izairida Shakira was young, sport was the furthest thing on her mind.

But that all changed at age seven when her brother Izairi Owen, who was six years older, persuaded her to play football with him and other boys at the void deck of their HDB block in the west.

Those sessions got Izairida hooked on the game as the goalkeeper went on to make her debut for the Singapore national team in 2023.

Now her passion has taken the 19-year-old to Thailand where she will look to take the next step in her development.

She has signed a contract with Thai Women’s League 1 side Chonburi FC, following in the footsteps of fellow Lionesses midfielder Putri Syaliza Sazali, who became the first Singaporean female player to feature in the country’s top tier in 2022 with the same team.

Izairida, who has just completed her Nitec programme at the ITE College West, said: “I would not have a football career if my brother did not bring me down to the void deck.”

Besides introducing her sister to the game, Izairi, who is now a part-time coach with a football academy, also played a part in securing the Thai move by putting together a highlight reel.

“When I first heard that there was an opportunity to move to Thailand, I was told to send through some videos but I didn’t have a clip so he helped out,” Izairida said.

“Given his coaching background, he was able to pick out the clips and make a nice compilation of my saves.”

She flew out to Thailand on Sept 13, trialling first with a second-tier side in Bangkok and trained with two other teams before eventually joining Chonburi.

Also playing a key role in Izairida’s move was Tan Meng Wei, the father of Lionesses forward Danelle. 

A keen fan of the women’s national team, he said that it is apparent that it “increasingly becomes harder and harder for women players who stay in Singapore to continually improve”.

“All top athletes need to be exposed to a constant high level of intensity and that therefore necessitates a move out of Singapore,” added Tan, who is convinced that Izairida will emerge as an even better goalkeeper from the stint.

“A friend had good contacts in Thailand. We all know what level of football Thailand plays at, so I made the trip to watch Chonburi and find out more about the set-up as well as the opportunity we could derive for Singapore talent.

“The Singapore women national players do not have as many opportunities as the men to pursue careers in football. I’m just trying to do my little bit to make it slightly easier for Singaporean women to make that leap.”

The Thai women’s national team have qualified for two FIFA Women’s World Cups (2015 and 2019) and have a record four titles in the ASEAN Women’s Championship.

Izairida, who started her career as an outfielder before becoming a goalkeeper, was the heroine when Singapore edged out Cambodia in the third-place play-off at the ASEAN Football Federation Women’s Cup in July.

Her two saves in the penalty shoot-out not only saw the team snag a bronze medal but also a spot at the 2027 ASEAN Women’s Championship.

Her appetite whetted, she now wants to keep growing, having seen first-hand how she is already benefiting from the greater intensity and tougher competition.

In her first training session with Chonburi, the former Lion City Sailors goalkeeper was left exhausted, and needed breaks to recover.

“There was a lot more footwork and high-intensity sets than I am used to,” said Izairida, who added that competition for spots is also stiff as she will be competing with at least three others for a starting berth.

“I know that working on my abilities here will allow me to be a better goalkeeper.”

Off the pitch, she is also learning to be independent, doing chores such as washing her clothes and hunting for halal food, as she adjusts to life without her family and pet cat.

Chonburi, who finished second in the eighth-team League 1 previously, will start their campaign on Oct 18 against newly promoted Khelang United.

The new season, which will be played in a three-round format, kicks off a day earlier and runs until April 2027.

The first and second rounds will be played in a home‑and‑away league format. In the third stage, the teams will be split into two groups, with the top four teams vying for the league title, which also comes with a berth in the AFC Women’s Champions League.

The remaining four teams will be aiming to avoid relegation to the second tier as one of two bottom sides.

On her goal for the stint, Izairida said: “I want to use this experience in Thailand to improve my technical abilities and bring those skills back to help elevate Singaporean football.

“Not everyone gets a chance like that to play overseas so I want to make the most of this opportunity.”