Helder Dos Santos Silva

• Football -Youth Technical Director

• Riverside Olympic FC - NPL Head Coach & Technical Director

  | Sept 2023 – 2026

  (NPL Tasmania, Australian 2nd tier)
  Led the first team and oversaw the club's technical direction and junior pathway.

  • NPL finishes of 6th (2023), 5th (2024) and 6th (2025)

  • Two semi-finals in the Australia Cup (Tasmania) and one Summer Cup final

  
  

• Launch International Football School (LIFS) Tasmania- Co-Director- Present

  Co-directs an international player development programme with Lynden Prince.

• Alar 359 FC First Team Head Coach

  | May 2022 – Dec 2022

  (China, 3rd Division)
  Led the first team's promotion campaign

• Meizhou Hakka FC (China) - Head Coach & Youth Director

  | Dec 2019 – Aug 2022

  Built and ran the academy structure from U8 to U23 and was Head Coach in China League 2.

  • Chinese FA Cup U23 winners (Hubei)

  • 4th place, Championship League U23 (Wuhan)

  • Developed players sold for significant fees

• Meizhou Football Association / Chinese Football Association-Youth Director & Head Coach, 2005/06

  Restructured the Meizhou FA's age groups from U6 to U18 and created a coach education platform for future coaches. Selected and coached the 2005/06 squad for provincial competition.

  • Silver medal at the 16th Provincial Olympic Games, the best men's result in 24 years

  • Provincial Champions U21 (Foshan), the first title in 15 years

  • National Champions, President Cup U14 (Shantou)

  • Governor's Cup Champions U17 & U18 (Maoming, 2022)

  • 3rd, Provincial Championship U16 & U17; City Champions U13 & U14

• Meizhou Sports School- Head Coach U17

  | May 2018 – Aug 2022

  Coached the 2005/06 age group in school leagues and prepared them for the 2022 Provincial Games.

• Guangdong Southern Tigers - Head Coach U21

  | June 2018 – Dec 2019

  Part of the Guangzhou city football project alongside Fabio Cannavaro's Guangzhou Evergrande.

  Finished 2nd in the CFA Youth League.

• Crystal Palace FC Academy (England)-Development Phase Lead, U18 Head Coach, U23 Assistant Coach & Academy Scout

  | Oct 2015 – May 2018

  Head Coach of the U18s in Premier League 2 Division 1, assisted with daily U23 sessions, and scouted players across the UK and Europe.

  • 5th place PL2 Div 1 (U16/U18) and 4th place (U18/U23)

  • Developed players including Giovanni McGregor (Republic of Ireland international), Ryan King-Elliott, Victor Fundi and Jason Akiotu,

    Tricky Mitchell

• Whitehawk FC (National League South)-Assistant Coach & Chief Scout

  | Nov 2014 – Oct 2015

  Supported the first-team manager with daily coaching and recruitment, reaching the play-off semi-final in 2015

• ProDirect Soccer Academy (England) Director & Head Coach

  | Mar 2011 – May 2018

  Area manager and business partner of a private academy specialising in player development. Won the Barcelona Festival Tournament.

• Hassocks FC U19 Head Coach

  | Jun 2013 – May 2014

  Led the U19s in the Senior East Sussex Reserve League.

• Eastbourne Borough FC First Team Coach & Scout

  | Jun 2009 – Nov 2014

  Coached with the first team and prepared opposition and scouting reports. Helped develop players including Frank Raymond, Anwar Uddin, Gavin MacCallum, Darren Lok and Miguel Batista.

• Zenit St Petersburg

  | Apr 2009

  3-month coaching internship

• Ajax F.C

  | Jan 2009

  • 3-month coaching internship

• Slavia Ruda Śląska (Poland),

  | Sept 2008

  Assistant Head Coach

• Riverside Olympic FC (Australia)

  • Three consecutive top-six finishes in NPL Tasmania: 6th (2023), 5th (2024), 6th (2025)

  • Two Australia Cup (Tasmania) semi-finals

  • Summer Cup finalist

  • Four players moved on to professional football abroad, in Portugal, the Netherlands, Greece and the USA

• China

  • Silver medal at the 16th Provincial Olympic Games (Shanghai), the best men's team result in 24 years

  • Chinese FA Cup U23 winners (Hubei)

  • Provincial Champions U21 (Foshan), the first title in 15 years

  • National Champions, President Cup U14 (Shantou)

  • Governor's Cup Champions U17 & U18 (Maoming, 2022)

  • 2nd place, Chinese 3rd Division promotion campaign (Alar 359 FC)

  • 2nd place, CFA Youth League, Youth Chinese Super League (Guangdong Southern Tigers U21)

  • 2nd place, Governor's Cup U14 & U15 (Mongolia)

  • 3rd place, Provincial Championship U16 & U17 (Foshan)

  • 3rd place, International Hakka Cup U14 (Mongolia)

  • 4th place, Championship League U23 (Wuhan)

  • City Champions, Meizhou League U13 & U14

  • Developed players sold for over 110m RMB combined, including Wen Weijie (45m), Xiao Lu Senlin (35.2m) and Shewen Xi (22m)

• England

  • Crystal Palace FC Academy: 4th place in Premier League 2 Division 1 (U18/U23) and 5th place (U16/U18). Developed players who moved on for undisclosed fees, including Republic of Ireland international Giovanni McGregor, Tricky Mitchell, Ryan King-Elliott, Victor Fundi and Jason Akiotu.

  • Whitehawk FC: Reached the National League South play-off semi-final as Assistant Coach and Chief Scout, and recruited players into the first-team squad.

  • Eastbourne Borough FC: Over six years as First Team Coach & Scout, helped develop ten players who went on to professional or international football. They include England internationals Frank Raymond and Richard Picquet, Republic of Ireland international Ian Simpemba, Canadian international Gavin MacCallum, Malaysian international Darren Lok, Bangladesh international Anwar Uddin, and Portuguese international Miguel Batista.

  • ProDirect Soccer Academy: Won the Barcelona Festival Tournament. Also grew the academy as Director, Area Manager and business partner over seven years.

  • Hassocks FC: Led the U19s in the Senior East Sussex Reserve League.

Coaches’ comments