WITH the immediacy to fill the coaching staff of the men’s team in mind, the Philippine Football Federation has turned to the women’s squad for help.
The PFF said the Philippine women’s football team coaching staff led by head coach Mark Torcaso is joining the men’s team’s camp for the September international window where it is scheduled to participate in the Merdeka Cup in Kuala Lumpur.
Also coming in are Torcaso’s staff Andrew Durante, Sinishi Cohadzik, and Garrath McPherson in a unique set-up that the women’s coaching staff will also be involved in the men’s side.
Norman Fegidero has also been elevated from assistant coach to interim head coach after Tom Saintfiet left the national team to take a similar role with Mali.
PFF director of senior national teams Freddy Gonzalez said the federation was fortunate that Torcaso and his staff accepted the temporary position in the men’s side as it searches for a permanent replacement for Saintfiet.
“Given the circumstances, we needed to act quickly,” said Gonzalez. “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.
“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. This temporary fix will give us much needed time to pin down a permanent head coach.”
Torcaso and his staff were just fresh from conducting a local camp at the Rizal Memorial Stadium where Philippine-based talents got an opportunity to show their skills in hopes of getting a spot in the women’s pool.
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