Berlin. On the heels of Michael Weiss’ contract extension as the Philippine Azkals manager, Filipino football will be given another boost by the July 2013 arrival of Thomas Roy, an expert in youth and grassroots development, who will assist the Philippines Football Federation (PFF) in talent identification and improving the youth football system. Mr. Roy’s two year consultancy with the PFF is being funded and supported by the Federal Foreign Office and the German Football Association (DFB).
Before departing for the Philippines, Mr. Roy called on Ambassador Maria Cleofe R. Natividad to brief her on the program and discuss possible future projects.
During the exchange with Ambassador Natividad, both sides agreed to explore with the German Football Federation sending a German football team to the Philippines to “kick off” the 60th anniversary of Philippine-German relations as well as to celebrate the 107th foundation year of the German Club in Manila – a manifestation of football diplomacy.
Since Weiss became the trainer of the Philippine national team, the “Azkals” have steadily risen to become the 2nd highest ranked ASEAN country, with a world ranking of 144 as of July 2013. The Azkals team is solidified by a strong contingent of Filipino-German players, including Stephan Schrock, Roland Muller, Dennis Wolf, Manny Ott and Patrick Reichelt. END
