Longtime Philippine national men's football team manager Dan Stephen Palami stepped down from his post after 15 years of service.

Palami, 53, made the announcement at the Philippine Football Federation House of Football in Pasig City with football chief John Gutierrez in attendance.

"I felt that it was time to step down as a courtesy, in deference to what Sir John will be doing in the next four years," said Palami, who will be focusing on his duties as president of St. Therese Educational Foundation of Tacloban Inc. in Tacloban City.

"I don't want to shackle him with whatever agreement we had previously and I want to give him the elbow room and free hand in whatever he thinks is necessary for Philippine football to move forward."

The Azkals patron said he reached a decision during the holidays.

"I have been contemplating it for a while. It was just a matter of timing and with Sir John's entry and the changes he tends to make in the PFF, I felt it was the right time."

Since being appointed in December 2009, Palami played an integral role in strengthening the men's national team.

Under his watch, the Azkals made it to four semifinal appearances in the AFF Championship in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2018.

The Philippines also made it to the AFC Asian Cup in 2019 for the first time in history.

Foreign coaches also graced the Azkals with the likes of current coach Hans Michael Weiss of Germany, Simon McMenemy of Scotland, German-American coach Thomas Dooley, Irish-English manager Scott Cooper and former England boss Sven-Göran Eriksson of Sweden taking charge of the national team.

Gutierrez said the PFF has already trimmed down the list to three candidates for Palami's successor.

"Once we decide on who will take on the burden, we will announce it. There is a shortlist of three people," said Gutierrez, who declined to name the candidates for the position of Azkals manager.

"Without the passion for football, there are thousands of candidates that can run in the marketing level of things. However, we do understand that passion for the game is the first part criterion for us to move forward in this industry effectively."

Whoever will be stepping up will be helping out the Azkals as the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers starts on 21 March against Iraq.

The Philippines is currently sitting in third place in Group F with a 0-1-1 win-draw-loss record.