Dan Palami

Dan Stephen Castillo Palami (born June 9, 1970) is a Filipino business and sports executive. He was the general manager of the Philippine men's national football team from 2009 to 2024. He is credited for his contributions to the revival of football in the Philippines due to the national team's performance at the 2010 AFF Championship.

Early life and education Dan Palami was born in Tacloban on June 9, 1970.

Business career Palami is the CEO of Autre Porte Global Inc. (APT Global), a railway engineering company which is involved in various capacities in LRT-1 and LRT-2 in Metro Manila.

Palami owned Global F.C. from the club's inception until December 2017, when the club was sold to Alvin Caranzza of MacGraphics Carranz.

Philippines U19 In November 2009, Palami was offered to handle the Philippine U19 national football team. Palami accepted the offer to manage the team through the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship qualification. He quit after a poor finish at the tournament only gaining a point against Guam.

He announced that he would be leaving his role with the national team on January 9, 2024. He was succeeded by former national team player Freddy Gonzalez.

Philippines national youth teams In late 2017, it was reported that Palami would be involved in managing the Philippine youth teams in 2018. Palami described the setup of the national youth team to the setup of the senior national team in 2010 when there was a lack of developmental plan and transparency on the selection of players. He notes that national youth players are selected from the same schools which their coaches are affiliated with which he says is "coincidence at best and justifiable" but concedes that it creates doubts due to a lack of transparency on the selection process. Palami is reportedly planning to choose regularly competing players from three pools in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao for the final line-up of the youth teams.

After helping the senior team qualify for their very first Asian Cup, Palami in March 2018 stated that he is considering another role in Philippine football. He said he might get involved in the grassroots of football in the country.

Political career In 2007, Palami ran for city mayor of Tacloban against Alfred Romualdez, son of outgoing mayor Alfredo 'Bejo' Romualdez. He lost the election by a more than 22,000 vote margin.