The Philippine National Women's Football team has a new head coach.
The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) announced on Tuesday, August 22, that Australian coach Mark Torcaso will take over the reins of the national squad.
PFF president Mariano Araneta welcomed the designation of Torcaso, who will bring with him two members of the Australian football team Western United coaching staff: Sinisha Cohadzic and Andrew Durante.
"We are confident that they will continue raising the standards of the Philippine Women’s National Team on all aspects and take the team to greater heights at the back of a historic and memorable 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand," Araneta said.
Araneta alongside PFF general secretary Edwin Gastanes and national team manager Jefferson Cheng flew to Sydney, Australia to meet with Torcaso over the weekends and formalize his appointment.
“It is important that we continue the momentum from the Filipinas’ historic FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign in New Zealand," Gastanes said on the appointment of Torasco.
"We have a motivated and accomplished coach in Mark Torcaso together with his staff, ready to lead our women’s teams in upcoming competitions," he added.
PFF said that Torcaso will call the shots for the Filipinas in the Asian Games in September in Hangzhou, China, and the AFC Olympic Qualifiers in October in Perth, Australia.
The 42-year-old Australian coach said that he feels privileged to take the helm of the Philippine national women's football team.
“Watching the development of the team over the last couple of years has been amazing, from the AFF Championship to the World Cup, and I feel honored to be able to try to continue this growth,” Torcaso said.
"I am excited to take on this opportunity and I can’t wait to meet the players and the other staff in camp next week," he added.
Torcaso replaces Coach Alen Stajcic, whose contract with the Philippine national women's football team came to an end after the historic 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup campaign of the Filipinas.
Stajcic has been named as the new head coach of the Australian football club Pert Glory following his departure from the national team.
