Cosafa Beach Soccer Championship |16 November 2021
Seychelles play hosts South Africa tomorrow
Seychelles will go into action tomorrow in the Cosafa Beach Soccer Championship when they take on hosts South Africa in a group A match at the South Beach Arena in Durban, South Africa.
The Seychelles team arrived in Durban on Sunday night after transiting in Johannesburg and head of delegation Damien Jean has said the players are upbeat ahead of their first encounter.
“All the players are looking forward to play against hosts South Africa. We can grind out a very good result which will be good for the rest of the competition as we have been drawn in a tough group,” said Mr Jean.
He added that the team trained yesterday and will train again today before tomorrow’s match.
In tomorrow’s other group A match, defending champions Madagascar will open the championship when they take on fancied Angola.
The only match in group B will see Mozambique clash with the Comoros Islands.
Seychelles’ second group A encounter is on Thursday against Madagascar before facing Angola on Friday.
Only the top two teams in each group will progress to the semifinals. Both the semifinals and finals will be played on Sunday.
Other than the Comoros and Mozambique, group B also comprises guest nation Tanzania.
Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) general secretary Sue Destombes is delighted the competition will be played after an absence of six years, admitting it was not easy to get it back on the calendar.
“We have been through a lot to get to where we are, we are delighted that it is coming to fruition,” said Ms Destombes on the Cosafa website.
She added: “When I went to the beach and saw the scaffolding coming up for the arena, it hit home that the beach soccer is going to be taking place. The draw puts it all together, outlining the groups.
“It is coming together nicely, and we are looking forward to the kick-off on Wednesday. It is step one on the initial journey of three years because we will be back here in host city Durban 2022 and 2023.
“Hopefully by then this tournament will become a qualifier for the Caf Beach Soccer Cup of Nations, that is our aim. We have put the peg in the ground, now we grow from here.”
Seychelles finished in fifth position after beating South Africa 1-0 in the fifth place play-off during the inaugural championship it organised in 2015.
Victory and the gold medal went to Madagascar who beat Malawi 9-4 in the final. The United Arab Emirates club Al-Ahli, who were guests in the competition, finished third to claim the bronze medal with a comfortable 7-3 triumph over Mauritius.
Days later, Seychelles hosted the 2015 Confederation of African Football (Caf) Beach Soccer Cup of Nations and once again Madagascar claimed the African title by beating fancied Senegal on penalties in the decider.
That qualified them for the World Cup in Portugal that same year, but they did not make it out of their group.
The Seychelles team are coached by former Seychelles international Don Anacoura who is assisted by two ex-national team players ‒ Alpha Baldé and Allen Larue.
The 14 players selected for the trip are Terrence Ahmad, Mike Balette, Dominique Bouchereau, Nadim Lucas, Davis Léon, Hansel Coeur de Lion, Robinson Cadeau, Lordy Sinon, Romany Richard, Michel Joubert, Marlon Sophola, Julio Ladouce, Kris Larue and Collin Tirant.
Sophola, Ladouce, Larue and Tirant are all players of 11-a-side football who have been included in the team and it is not clear how this is possible, since the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) does not allow players of 11-a-side football to play beach soccer.
Damien Jean is the head of delegation, Dominic Savy the team manager and Wilna Figaro the physiotherapist.
Gerard Govinden
The Cosafa Beach Soccer Championship fixtures
Date Group Fixture KO Venue
17 November A Madagascar vs Angola 10h00 South Beach Arena
17 November A South Africa vs Seychelles 11h30 South Beach Arena
17 November B Mozambique vs Comoros 15h30 South Beach Arena
18 November A Seychelles vs Madagascar 10h00 South Beach Arena
18 November A South Africa vs Angola 11h30 South Beach Arena
18 November B Tanzania vs Mozambique 15h30 South Beach Arena
19 November A Angola vs Seychelles 10h00 South Beach Arena
19 November B South Africa vs Madagascar 11h30 South Beach Arena
19 November A Comoros vs Tanzania15h30 South Beach Arena
SEMIFINALS
Date Match Fixture KO Venue
21 November 10 Win Grp B vs Run-Up Grp A 09h00 South Beach Arena
21 November 11 Win Grp A vs Run-Up Grp B 10h30 South Beach Arena
FINAL
21 November 12 Winner M10 vs Winner M11 15h00 South Beach Arena