Tom Saintfiet bids adieu, leaves PMNFT back to square one

Photo credits: Philippine Men's National Football Team

With the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup just four months away, the Philippine Men's National Football Team was dealt a heavy blow as Tom Saintfiet left the country and returned to Africa to lead Mali.

In a statement released by the Philippine Football Federation, Saintfiet has relinquished his role as the Philippines' head coach with immediate effect to become the head coach of Mali after establishing what could be a revamped look of the PMNFT

“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. 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,” said Director of Senior National Teams Freddy Gonzalez.

In the meantime, PMNFT Assistant Coach and U-23 Head Coach Norman Fegidero will be stepping in his shoes alongside Philippine Women's National Football Team coaches Mark Torcaso, Andrew Durante, Sinisha Cohadzic, and Garrath McPherson all committing to join and support the men's team as they wrap up their training camp before heading off to Malaysia for their participation in the Merdeka Cup.

Photo credits: Philippine Men's National Football Team

Gonzales said, "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. With some of our staff departing along with Tom, we needed to bring in additional support."

He added, "Luckily for us, we have a great staff on the women’s side that was more than willing to answer the call for this tournament. It’s unusual to see a crossover of staff from separate teams, but it’s a situation that required a novel solution."

The Philippines is set to take on Malaysia in the 2024 Merdeka Cup, an international friendly football tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate Malaysia's Independence Day. They'll face each other on the 4th of September while other participants Lebanon and Tajikistan square off in the other fixture.