Aussie Torcaso named Filipinas head coach

ANOTHER Australian will be taking the helms of the Philippine Women's National Football Team.

The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) announced on Wednesday that reigning A-League Women Coach of the Year Mark Torcaso, who is head coach of Western United FC from Melbourne, will succeed fellow Australian Alen Stajcic, who went on to become the head coach of A-League Men's side Perth Glory.

New Philippine women’s head coach Mark Torcaso. PHOTO FROM PFF/WESTERN UNITED FC

The 42-year-old coached Western United to a grand finals appearance in its inaugural Australian league season earlier this year.

“The Philippine Football Federation is delighted to announce the appointment of Australian coach Mark Torcaso as head coach of the Philippine Women's National Team,” the PFF announced on its website.

Torcaso met with PFF President Mariano “Nonong” Araneta, general secretary Edwin Gastanes and team manager Jefferson Cheng over the weekend in Sydney to formalize his appointment.

Joining Torcaso are Sinisha Cohadzic and Andrew Durante, who will serve as his assistants.

For Torcaso, he felt “incredibly privileged” to accept the new coaching gig and thanked the PFF and Cheng for making it happen.

“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. I look forward to the challenge alongside Sinisha and Andrew.”

Cheng said the team is excited to start training again with the new coaching staff.

According to Gastanes, Torcaso will handle the Filipinas for the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China next month, as well as the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Olympic qualifiers in Perth, Australia in October.

Cohadzic will serve as the head coach of the girls' Under-17 and women's Under-20 Philippine teams. He will be handling the Under-17 squad for the AFC Asian Cup Qualifying Tournament in Vietnam next month.

The Filipinas are fresh off an appearance at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, having won one game in the tournament, which was won by Spain.