The forgotten ex-Arsenal star was sacked by Arsene Wenger and now leads one of the worst football teams in the world
Former Arsenal star Chris Kiwomya now manages the British Virgin Islands.
The 53-year-old former striker spent three years at Arsenal in the 1990s.
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Kiwomya moved to the Gunners from Ipswich in 1995 under George Graham for £1.25 million.
He played 17 times for Arsenal, scoring three goals, before being released by Bruce Rioch following the departure of George Graham.
Arsene Wenger then loaned him out to Le Havre and Selangor before finally being sold to Queens Park Rangers in 1998.
After retiring as a player, Kiwomya took up a coaching role at Arsenal and then Ipswich Academies.
He got the Notts County job in 2013 and built an exciting squad around future Celtic and Manchester City stars Callum McGregor and Jack Grealish.
He left his position in October and had to wait eight years for his next leadership position.
In 2021, he accepted the top job as head of the British Virgin Islands.
With the Caribbean island having not won a game since 2012 at that point, Kiwomya faced quite a challenge.
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But in a picturesque setting he has tried to improve to 204th out of 207 places in the FIFA rankings.
Earlier this year, the British Virgin Islands defeated the Turks and Caicos Islands 3-1 in the Concacaf National League – their first win since defeating Anguilla in 2012.
Following the historic moment, Kiwomya told the local outlet TWTD: “I’m really happy that as a team we were able to make history for the BVI.”
“It’s a difficult situation with the players because, apart from one, they are not professional and I can’t train the whole team together regularly.
“However, I like challenges and developing players and they have accepted what I have asked of them. It also helps that the British Virgin Islands has beautiful islands!”
Even the Prime Minister of the British Virgin Islands, Natalio Wheatley, thanked Kiwomya for this success.
He added: “It was great to have the Premier at the game and meet him. He was really impressed with the performance and improvement of the players over the last 12 months.”
“I don’t get carried away by the result. It’s just one step on a long journey.”