Football - Exciting season ahead, says chairman Chetty |10 March 2016

The 2016 football season promises to be very exciting on both local and international fronts, according to Elvis Chetty.

The Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) chairman was speaking to Sports Nation after the new season got under way last weekend with the President’s Cup match won by Barclays league division one champions St Michel for a record 14th time after edging Intelvision Cup winners LightStars 2-1 at Stad Linite.

“It was a good start to the season as both teams were very competitive and gave their best and I would like to congratulate them to treat us to a good game,” said chairman Chetty who added that more excitement lies ahead for football fans this year.

On the international stage, the country’s national team are already involved in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers and will this year also take part in the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup in Namibia in May.

He also revealed that the national team will also play a few friendly matches during the year.

Mr Chetty explained that “the Seychelles under-17 selection will face Tanzania in an African Cup of Nations qualifier on July 1, while the Under-20 team will compete in the Cosafa Cup later this year.”

This year’s first division league will be the biggest yet with a total of 12 teams competing for the top prize. Defending champions St Michel will have to battle hard against LightStars, Côte d’Or, Anse Réunion, La Passe, Northern Dynamo, Revengers, The Lions, St Louis, Foresters, Plaisance and St John Bosco.

Last year’s Barclays league division two winners Plaisance and runners-up St John Bosco are newcomers to the enlarged top flight which football fans will surely be watching out how it unfolds.

“Certainly we will be analysing the practicality of the 12-team first division, but I can’t give you an answer right now. So we must be patient,” said Mr Chetty.

The opening match of the Barclays league division one will see second division champions Plaisance take on St Michel this evening at Stad Linite, while the weekend’s big game is between St Louis and La Passe on La Digue this Saturday.

The second division league will also comprise 11 teams this year with newly promoted Tigers and South Olympic taking on Bwalo Boys, Under-17, Real Maldives, Persévérance, St Francis, Au Cap, St Roch, SPDF and Victoria City.

In the third division, a total of 11 teams will be in action and among them are a new-look Red Star, one of the former giants of Seychelles football. The other two newly formed teams in this division are Glacis, Seypec and Mont Buxton Veterans.

The other teams are Mont Buxton, Beau Vallon, Bel Air, West Coast Brothers, Under-16, Mont Fleuri and Anse Royale.

Mr Chetty also said the federation will be continuing its efforts to further develop football in Seychelles this year and added that they have acquired a plot of land on which they hope to have another functioning football field for more teams to get access to it.

He added: “Our intention with regards to youth development is to continue working with our academies and to look for more opportunities to get matches and competitions for these young footballers.”

The chairman of the SFF also talked about some of the issues that affected football last year and these include the lighting at Stad Linite. He said they have tried to rectify the problem but because they do not own the venue, there is only so much they can do.

With the recent election of Swiss Gianni Infantino as the new president of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (Fifa) and Mr Chetty himself taking part in the election, the SFF boss did not hesitate to give his impression of  the 45-year-old.

“Infantino was actually born a mere 10km away from where ex-president Sepp Blatter comes from if I’m not mistaken. He has already suggested a number of projects for developing countries like Seychelles and should these plans come to fruition then I really think it will help football development in Seychelles,” said Mr Chetty.

He also added that the former Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) secretary general has in the past organised some of the biggest football events in the world, like the UEFA Champions League and the European Championships (Euro) and therefore “his experience will serve the game well”.

S. N.