Norman Fegidero will handle the Philippine national men’s football team as its interim head coach.
The 54-year-old Fegidero, the coach of the national under-23 football team, will fill in for Tom Saintfiet, who quit after six months.
Preparing the national squad for the 2024 Merdeka Cup next week will now be the priority of Fegidero, a former midfielder, who represented the Philippine national team from 1989 to 2001 before becoming the squad’s coach in 2008.
The national team is currently undergoing a training camp, to be handled by Fegidero with support from the Philippine national women’s team coaching staff of Mark Torcaso, Andrew Durante, Sinisha Cohadzic and Garrath McPherson, all committing to support the men’s side during its campaign.
“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 PFF Director of Senior National Football Teams Freddy Gonzalez.
“This temporary fix will give us a much-needed time to pin down a permanent head coach,” added Gonzalez.
“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 of Saintfiet, who will return to Africa to lead Mali’s football team.
“With the Merdeka Cup around the corner, and preparations for the Mitsubishi Electric Cup ramping up, we need to move on quickly from this,” added Gonzalez.
He said they are already looking at candidates to take on the head coach role, confident in finding a man that will be committed to the PFF’s vision.
The Philippines, under Saintfiet, sustained four straight losses in its initial 2025 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.
“We need people who are all in. It’s the only way we will succeed. That goes for the players, the staff, and most definitely our head coach. We intend to get that man on board very soon,” said Gonzalez.
Last January, the 50-year-old Saintfiet stepped down as Gambia’s coach following his team’s dramatic exit from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Saintfiet quit after the Gambian Scorpions sustained late 3-2 loss to Cameroon in their final game in Group C, with the loss leaving his team in bottom of the group.
