Former Gambia manager Tom Saintfiet has been announced as the new head coach of the Philippines national football team after resigning from the Scorpions job.
Tom announced his resignation from the Gambia national team after the 2023 AFCON hosted and won by Ivory Coast.
Following his resignation as Gambia manager, three top West African sides Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon were looking to appoint him for their national team’s manager job.
But the Belgium trainer chose to accept the position in the Philippines after receiving a last-minute call from FECAFOOT President Samuel Eto’o.
“I was in need of an ambitious task, a project,” said the Belgian, when explaining why he accepted the appointment,” he said during his presentation.
“My experience in national team football is that it’s not always the best players who win games. It’s personality, commitment. Playing for your country is the highest you can achieve.”
Director of the national teams of Philippines, Freddy Gonzalez, confirmed interest from the three African nations and China.
“I can be pretty convincing when I want to be. Of course, he was one of the candidates. He was not the only one but after interviewing everyone, I felt he matched what we want,” he said at a pre-match presser.
“Initially, when we were talking, he was already asked by Ghana, Nigeria and China to coach their teams. I was able to convince him to leave those offers and come here but then at the last second Samuel Eto’o called him up, about a week ago, wanting him to be the coach of Cameroon. I am so glad he chose us,” he added.