Philippine men’s football team coach Tom Saintfiet and Christian Rontini. –CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Tom Saintfiet has left as coach of the Philippine men’s football team after only six months at the helm to accept a similar role for Mali.
The Philippine Football Federation confirmed Saintfiet’s departure Thursday, days before the national side travels to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Merdeka Cup.
Freddy Gonzalez, PFF’s director of national teams, said the team is now in a rush to find an immediate replacement.
READ: Tom Saintfiet to coach PH men’s football team
“From my first meeting with Tom this is something we had discussed that if a bigger opportunity came to him that I wouldn’t stand in his way,” Gonzalez said in a statement released hours after Mali’s football federation confirmed Saintfiet’s appointment.
Saintfiet was hired as Michael Weiss’ replacement last February after guiding Gambia to two appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations, the most recent being last January.
READ: PH men’s football team’s World Cup bid suffers blow with 5-0 loss
But Saintfiet lost all four matches in charge of the men’s team, twice to Iraq in March and to Vietnam and Indonesia last June in the World Cup Qualifiers.
Two of those matches, particularly against Iraq in Basra and Vietnam in Hanoi, were decided by a goal.
“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 Gonzalez.