Women’s football   Seychelles women's team achieve Fifa ranking in loss to Singapore   |06 April 2022

Singapore's Stephanie Dominguez (second from right) celebrating after she scored the first goal (Photo: Desmond Wee)

Despite registering a defeat on a 2-6 score against hosts Singapore, the Seychelles women’s football team had a reason to celebrate ‒ they earned their Fifa ranking after Monday’s game as Natacha Bibi scored twice.

Playing in the opening game of the FAS Tri-Nations Series 2022 (Women’s) tournament at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Monday, the Seychelles team were up against the Lionness of Singapore who produced a show to remember for the 1,500 fans. It was Singapore’s first time playing in front of a paying public and their first victory in an international ‘A’ fixture since a 1-0 win over Maldives at the FAS International Women’s Quadrangular in 2018.

World number 135 Singapore opened the scoring the 18th minute when Stephanie Gigette Domingueztapped in from close range after Seychelles goalkeeper Mendy Gabriel could only palm away Nur Farhanah Ruhaizat’s header.

Forward Dominguez got her second eight minutes later, collecting Danelle Tan’s well-timed pass before firing into the bottom corner.

Seychelles regrouped and halved the deficit, thanks to Natacha Bibi’s effort in the 30th minute.

Singapore’s two overseas-based players Putri Syaliza Sazali and Tan then combined in the 52nd minute to make it 3-1.

Seychelles responded again as Bibi scored in the 70th minute, but substitute Dorcas Chu scored following a corner kick to restore Singapore’s two-goal cushion before Siti Nurerwadah Erwan and Danelle sealed the win with a long-range effort and a penalty respectively in time added on.

Despite her team’s defeat, Seychelles’ head coach Angeline Chua, a former Singapore international, was happy they have achieved their objective of getting at Fédération Internationale de Football Association (Fifa) ranking.

“It’s hard to describe. But the team are celebrating this achievement for sure! This is because the Fifa ranking was first introduced in December 1992 and the Seychelles men’s national team were ranked in 1993. As the Confederation of African Football (Caf) women’s football strategy slogan says ‘Its Time it’s Now’ to grow the women’s game, the Seychelles Football Federation has taken a step forward to put in place a women’s football strategy to increase the participation of female in football in the country since 2020. It's really good because we need to have a benchmark of where we are going so to be in the Fifa ranking is the first step towards that. Our team comprise young and senior players, and I am proud to say that the way the team performed on Monday night against Singapore we managed to gain some fans among the 1,500 spectators at the stadium. Traveling out here in Asia, people were able to gain some knowledge about the country ‘Seychelles’ and it has been a big boost to let others know about this beautiful island,” said head coach Chua.

Asked to comment on her team’s performance against her country’s side, she said: “The game would have been very different if not for the controversial decision made by the referee in the 13th minute into the game. Our striker, Natacha Bibi was taken down by the opposing goalkeeper just outside the penalty box in a one-on-one situation and there wasn’t any call at all. It was obvious, from the replay that the Singapore goalkeeper would have gotten sent off in the early part of the game. This would have given Seychelles a huge advantage at the beginning.

“However, the team kept on playing even after committing some mistakes and conceding goals. We managed to keep everything level and close till the 85th minute where again with some controversial decisions for the fifth goal and the penalty kick.

“The team have a great fighting spirit and love for the game. It was the spirit of Seychelles culture on the pitch that captured the fans’ attention and also their great potential when they have the ball in their feet. We gave our all and in an entertaining 90 minutes.”

So what is the next goal then?

Coach Chua replied: “The next Fifa update will be on June 17, 2022. Seychelles’ women’s team will be ranked for the first time. Although it took us 30 years to be on the global map, the actual process was that we started preparing the team in July 2021 and within nine months we have achieved our goal. And not forgetting that we had already earned our first official match win in February 2022 against Maldives on a 4-0 score.

“We have played a total of six games so far and it is obvious that we lack the experience of international football. This can be fixed very easily by giving the team exposure consistently throughout the year like what we are doing right now. The aim is to play as many games as possible during the Fifa windows to develop our playing style and give opportunities for youth players to come into the team. And lastly, to participate in the regional tournaments such as African Cup of Nations (Afcon) and Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa).

The Cosafa women’s tournament will be held in September and Cosafa U17 Girls in December this year. We are looking forward to participate and measure ourselves with the teams in our region and improve the team as we progress.”

To be ranked on the Fifa list, the Seychelles women’s team had to play a minimum of six international matches.

Prior to the ongoing tournament in Singapore, the team captained by Pascalina Moustache had already played five games ‒ twice against United Arab Emirates (1-4 and 0-4 losses) and Maldives (0-1 loss and 4-0 win), and once against Saudi Arabia (0-2 loss).

Before Monday’s game, captain Moustache, 30, said: "If tomorrow (Monday) we achieve the ranking then it's history for Seychelles people because it's a big thing for us, especially for me. I'm 30 and maybe have five more years to play soccer but I will be glad to be part of the team right now for the ranking."

Seychelles’ next game is against 49th-ranked Papua New Guinea on Friday.

Coached by Stephen Ng, Singapore are preparing for the May 12-23 SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam after a two-decade absence.

Gerard Govinden