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Coach Tom Saintfiet departs PH men's football team for Mali
The post-Azkals era of the Philippine men’s football team is off to a challenging start after head coach Tom Saintfiet resigned from his post on Thursday, August 29, to take on the Mali men’s team in Africa.
The development came four days before the start of the 2024 Merdeka Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Saintfiet, the Belgian coach who boasts nearly 30 years of coaching experience, resigned just six months after taking the Philippines gig.
The Malian Football Federation announced through its social media channels that it has appointed the 51-year-old Saintfiet to lead its national team, known as “The Eagles,” ahead of the 2025 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign.
PHOTO COURTESY: PHILIPPINE FOOTBALL FEDERATION
“From my first meeting with Tom, this is something we had discussed – that if a bigger opportunity came to him, I wouldn’t stand in his way,” said Freddy Gonzalez, Director of Senior National Teams for the Philippines.
“Tom came into the Philippine job with every intention of helping with our project, but his heart has always been in Africa. We thank him for his service and wish him well in his new role.”
Saintfiet, who replaced former head coach Michael Weiss earlier this year, led the Philippine team in four official matches.
His short stint included defeats both at home and away against Iraq and losses to regional rivals Vietnam and Indonesia.
Norman Fegidero, the seniors team assistant and under-23 squad mentor, will step in as interim coach for the 2024 Pestabola Merdeka Cup kicking off on September 4 against host nation Malaysia.
“Given the circumstances, we needed to act quickly. Norman was the assistant coach in the last four games and was the obvious choice to take charge in the interim,” said Gonzalez.
Mark Torcaso, the head coach of the Philippine women’s football team, will also support the men’s squad “temporarily”.
The Philippines last reached the semifinals of the tournament in 2018 under the guidance of the late Sven-Göran Eriksson.
The search for Saintfiet’s successor is now in high gear with the 2024 Mitsubishi Electric Cup set to begin in three months' time.
“With the Merdeka Cup around the corner and preparations for the Mitsubishi Electric Cup ramping up, we need to move on quickly from this,” Gonzalez stated. “We are already looking at candidates to take on the Head Coach role. I am confident in finding a man who will be committed to our vision.”
