Newly-appointed Philippine Football Federation (PFF) technical director Josep Ferré has been following the progress of the sport here for a long time now and as he takes on a new role in the federation, the Spanish coach has his eyes set on further igniting youth development in the country.
Ferré is no stranger to the local football scene after having called the shots for the Philippine national men’s football team during the 2022 AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup, where the Filipinos finished seventh among 10 clubs.
But even after he left the Philippines, the 40-year-old football coach said he stayed updated with what was happening in the Philippine football circle.
“I had a really nice experience living here and from that moment, I was always following what was going on in the Philippines—in the national team, in the youth teams, and in the federations,” Ferré said in a press conference at the PFF headquarters on Tuesday.
“I am grateful to share my experience in the past years.”
That’s why when the opportunity to be the next PFF technical director presented itself, Ferré agreed to handle the job.
“He has a very big role for Philippine football. It was a long process and obviously there was no shortage of applicants but during this course, Pep was actually in the office while we were searching for our next TD,” PFF director of football Vince Santos shared.
“He didn’t come to apply but through our conversation that day, we just realized that he actually had a background.”
As Ferré assumes the technical director role, he said building a strong foundation on the youth level would be a vital factor in transforming the sport into a more inclusive and progressive endeavor.
“In football, most of the time, decisions are taken based on the needs of today or the needs of yesterday, but not so often the decisions are taken thinking of the benefit of the people who will be here in the next 15 or 20 years,” Ferré, who had coaching stints in Indonesia, India, Thailand, and Puerto Rico, said.
Ferré also understands that their resources are limited, but he beamed with optimism that the new PFF organization will make the most of those in achieving their long-term goals.
“If you ask me how confident I am, I will tell you [I am] fully confident depending on the resources because resources, everywhere in the world, are limited,” Ferré said.
“We know that funds are limited, always and everywhere, but with the funds we have we will go to the maximum that we can get from that.”
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
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