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 tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Playing career

De Kat firstly played as a professional footballer for

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian language, West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch professional association football, football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherla ...

. He later featured for clubs SC REMO and SVV Scheveningen.

Coaching career

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

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, ) is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the m ...

and studying at

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

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

. 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. The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. In domestic football, Arsenal h ...

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 Tilburg non-playing staff Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England 20th-century Dutch sportsmen