Tom Saintfiet has been named as the new Togo national team coach, with the Belgian earning himself a two-year contract with the Sparrow Hawks.

The tactician has been in charge of the Togolese side in a caretaker role, while decisions were being made concerning the full time staff who would be in place, but the football authorities in the country have now decided to put their faith in him.

“We have been in negotiations and when you see the federation making the announcement then know it’s sealed already. However, I would not like to give any more details. You will get the rest of the information in an announcement to be done jointly with the federation on June 1,” Saintfiet said, according to SuperSport.

According to a statement released by the Togo Football Federation’s (TFF) Antoine Folly, the Togolese authorities confirmed the new development and added an update concerning a new element that will form part of these and future contract negotiations with the technical team.

The statement read: “In collaboration with the Ministry of Sports we have decided to renew our confidence in caretaker coach Tom Saintfiet and for the first time in the Togo’s football history we will sign contracts with the entire technical bench, unlike previous years where only the head coach had a valid contract.”

Former Togo national team captain Abalo Dosseh has been appointed as his assistant coach, and as the statement reveals, he will also have a contract with the TFF.

The Togolese qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, making history by reaching their first finals, and Saintfiet will be aiming to repeat history when World Cup qualifiers begin for the 2018 edition later in the year.

Before that, however, he will be focussed on the qualifiers for the next Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Gabon, which will be held at the beginning of 2017.

Togo’s first qualifier is set for June 13 against Liberia, and Siantfiet has already picked a 30-man squad for the encounter.