Tom Saintfiet leaves Ethiopian coaching job

Addis Ababa – Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet said on Friday that he was leaving his job as Ethiopia national soccer coach after just five months, citing broken promises for his departure, in an e-mail message sent to Reuters..

Coach Saintfiet noted that despite the many positives, some agreements were not honored and that is the reason for this decision.

Saintfiet had been in charge for three African Nations Cup qualifiers since June, including a 2-2 draw with Nigeria that contributed to the Super Eagles missing out on African Nations Cup qualification.

Ethiopia finished third in the group and next play Somalia over two legs in mid-November at the start of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

It was Saintfiet’s third national team job after stints with Namibia and Zimbabwe.

“I am now looking forward to a bigger task. A job and task where I can work in a professional set-up and with a team which can qualify for the tournaments,” he added in his e-mail.