Premier League cult hero, 38, named manager of Cypriot side Ayia Napa FC

Former Premier League cult hero Jason Puncheon has been named manager of a Cypriot second-division team based in the popular party town of Ayia Napa.

Puncheon spent nine seasons in the Premier League, with his most memorable stint coming at Crystal Palace.

The Englishman scored 16 goals in 169 games for Palace, including the opener in their 2016 FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United.

He also enjoyed stints at Milton Keynes Dons, Southampton, and Huddersfield Town before choosing to pack his bags and wind down his playing days in Cyrus with top-flight clubs Pafos and Anorthosis.

Now 38, Puncheon has already moved into coaching after retiring in 2023 but has enjoyed little success so far in his two stints in the Cyriot second division.

The former midfielder spent seven months at Peyia 2014 before moving to AEZ Zakakiou where he was in charge for less than a month before being sacked having failed to win any of his first seven games.

Puncheon, though, has been given another shot in the dugout by a third Cypriot team after he was appointed manager of Ayia Napa FC on Tuesday.

A statement on the club’s social media said: ‘Agia Napa Athletic Club announces the start of its partnership with coach Jason Puncheon.

‘Jason has previously been the coach of the PEGEIA team and also of Sa Zakakiou. The agreement with him is until May 2025.

‘A member of the technical team will also be Christos Tsapatsoulis, who will be the direct partner of our new technician.

‘The board of directors wishes both of them every success with our team.’

Ayia Napa currently sit third from bottom in the league having won just one of their first six games.

Speaking earlier in the year, Puncheon said he was open-minded about working abroad and simply wanted to get his managerial career started rather than waiting for opportunities closer to home.

‘Footballers should look at these opportunities and take them more than we turn them down because there’s so much to learn,’ he told the Daily Mail.

‘It was route into coaching for me because the reality is I’m not Steven Gerrard or Wayne Rooney.

‘Maybe Crystal Palace would have said to me at the end of my playing career, “Come and take the U15s”. But I thought if I go to Cyprus and make a name for myself it may be easier for me to step into coaching which was always the end goal.

‘Whereas in England, once I retired I would maybe be waiting forever.’

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