While his name was still circulating to take over an African selection, such as Cameroon, the former coach of Gambia preferred to relaunch in Asia by taking the reins of the Philippines selection.
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Tom Saintfiet managed a nice counterattack, a little like the character who likes to put the indicator on the right, then turn left. The Belgian technician, who resigned the day after the elimination of the Scorpions at CAN 2024, decided to sign with the Philippine football team when everything indicated that he was spoiled for choice in Africa. “I want to work with a team that will allow me to play major tournaments on a regular basis and win titleshe said after his resignation. At the moment I have offers in Asia, a selection there, want me for a long lease. There is also interest from Tunisia and other selections in Africa, like Ivory Coast, Ghana and Cameroon. Now I’m going to study all the offers and we’ll see what happens “.
Obviously, the offer from the Philippines, 140th in the world in the latest Fifa ranking, caught the interest of Tom Saintfiet, contacted by the Cameroonian Federation and who had also appealed to the Algerian Federation.
It is a big challenge that awaits the former Technical Director of Nigeria who aims to progress a team whose greatest achievement remains a (only) qualification for the Asian Cup in 2018. A competition left after the first round.
In Africa, Tom Saintfiet had a long career of 18 years with stints at the head of the national teams of Namibia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Malawi and Togo. But it was with Gambia that he achieved his greatest feat on the continent. At the head of the Scorpions, from 2018 to 2024, he managed to qualify Gambia for the CAN 2022 (quarter-final) and 2024 (first round). In 2022 and 2023, he was named among the best coaches in Africa at the CAF Awards.
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