MFA president Norman Darmanin Demajo announced today that the MFA Executive Committee has effectively agreed that the next national coach should be a foreigner.
He said the aim is to appoint the right person for the right price.
The MFA, he stressed, will not rush into making an appointment and the likelihood is that the national team will be led by a caretaker coach for the friendly game against Liechtenstein in February.
The MFA has received over 30 applications from foreign coaches for the national
coach's job.
The MFA last month terminated the contracts of national coach John Buttigieg and his assistant Carmel Busuttil.
"I've always felt that, given that we're playing in a tough international league (competition), it's better to have a foreigner leading our team," Mr Darmanin Demajo had said shortly after.
"A foreign coach also comes without a baggage, he has no sympathies or grudges towards players. But, this is just a personal opinion."