Before moving to S'pore to play, Lion City Sailors' Kyoga Nakamura faced financial struggles, lived in rented room for S$170 a month

A profile of Kyoga Nakamura, the Japanese-born midfielder who is now a Singapore citizen and Lion City Sailors player. He arrived in 2019 after a difficult spell in Japan in which his confidence collapsed at JEF United Chiba, his contract was not renewed, and he packed ballpoint pens into boxes to make ends meet while sharing a room for 20,000 yen (S$170) a month. Despite losing 7kg in his first two months in Singapore's heat, he rebuilt his career with Albirex Niigata and Tampines Rovers. "Singapore taught me how to enjoy football again," he said, describing a country where mistakes are treated as opportunities to improve — and where a local club contract paid him around S$3,800 a month, about what a J2 League player earns.