Frans de Kat (born 1965) is a Dutch former footballer and coach who is the head of the Dutch national footballing

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

Playing career

De Kat firstly played as a professional footballer for

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands. History Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...

. He later featured for clubs SC REMO and

SVV Scheveningen Scheveningse Voetbal Vereniging Scheveningen is an association football club from Scheveningen, a district of The Hague, Netherlands. The club was founded 1 July 1919. It is currently playing in the Tweede Divisie, the third tier of football in ...

Coaching career

After ending his playing career, De Kat moved toward coaching, with him earning a CIOS-diploma in

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

and studying at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

's Academy of Physical Education. He thereafter became a district coach with the

KNVB The Royal Dutch Football Association (, ; KNVB ) is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues (Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch Netherlands nati ...

. De Kat was appointed in 2001 as the manager of the Netherlands women's national team. Two years later he attained his UEFA Pro professional football coaching license. In 2004, he was replaced as the Dutch Women's football manager by

Vera Pauw Vera Pauw (; born 18 January 1963) is a Dutch Women's association football, football coach and former player. She currently manages the Republic of Ireland women's national football team. She has managed several national women's football teams, i ...

. Altogether he was at the helm of the side for a sum of 27 games. He then took up the post of Assistant Manager at

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...

. De Kat eventually moved on to Willem II where he was named as the club's Head of Scouting and a consultant to their Academy. In March 2010 he coached the Willem II women's team until the end of that season. In July 2010 De Kat was appointed as the technical consultant at club RKDEO, a post which he held for another 18 months . On 1 July 2014, De Kat linked up with London club

Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (inclu ...

in the role of the Under18's manager.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kat, Frans de 1965 births Living people Dutch men's footballers Dutch football managers Netherlands women's national football team managers Arsenal F.C. non-playing staff Men's association football players not categorized by position Sportspeople from Assen Footballers from Drenthe Women's association football managers ADO Den Haag non-playing staff Willem II (football club) non-playing staff Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England