Tom Saintfiet has been named as the brand new head coach of the Philippine males’s nationwide soccer staff.
The transfer was introduced by the Philippine Football Federation on Monday.
According to nationwide groups director Freddy Gonzalez, Saintfiet is the proper particular person to deal with the staff because the federation hopes to win the AFF Mitsubishi Cup and qualify for the Asian Cup, and finally the World Cup.
“I was in need of a new task, an ambitious task. I was not in need of a new job, I am in need of a new project. I’m proud to be a part of this ambitious project and I’m sure we altogether will succeed in our dreams,” Saintfiet mentioned in a press convention.
He will change Michael Weiss, who was appointed as head coach final June 2023.
Saintfiet, 50 years previous, will usher in years of teaching nationwide groups, with the newest being Gambia as he dealt with the staff from 2018-2024. He additionally beforehand held the nationwide groups of Malta, Trinidad and Tobago, Bangladesh, Togo, Malawi, Yemen, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
He additionally steered the Gambia nationwide staff to back-to-back appearances within the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021, the place they completed sixth, and in 2023.
Gonzalez mentioned Saintfiet might be in it “for a while” because the federation goals for stability.
“One of the most important things for us, the national teams, is consistency and stability. That’s something we lacked in the past. Coach Tom is gonna be here for a while. This is a long-term project so we have him contracted for quite a bit. Same with the pool of players,” Gonzalez mentioned.
“Consistency and stability is one of the most important things for us so we have everybody here in Tom’s staff for the long haul.”
The work will begin as quickly as potential because the federation additionally introduced an open coaching session on Friday afternoon.
The nationwide males’s staff may even compete within the March window of the World Cup qualifiers as they play Iraq in Basra earlier than returning house. The Philippines fell to Vietnam, 0-2, and settled for a draw in opposition to Indonesia, 1-1.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
