Football: National Premier League |27 October 2022
Defence Forces FC, Pointe Larue Bazar Brothers FC and Anse Reunion FC early leaders
Defence Forces FC, Pointe Larue Bazar Brothers FC and Anse Reunion FC are the early leaders of the three National Premier League groups ‒ Mahé group 1, Mahé group 2 and Inner Islands ‒ for the 2022/2023 season.
Each group consists of six teams and to even the groups, four teams ‒ LMS, Mont Fleuri, Anse Royale and Bel Air ‒ have been promoted from the Championship to the Premier League division. Last season’s Championship winners Bel Air and runners-up Mont Fleuri have earned automatic promotion.
With four points from a win and a draw, Defence Forces FC lead the Mahé group 1 ahead of Bosco FC who also have four points from a win and a draw. They also have a loss to their name.
As for record President’s Cup winners St Michel United, who captured the title a 14th time earlier this month, they are third on three points following a win.
In the Mahé group 2, Pointe Larue Bazare Brothers FC lead the chase with seven points after collecting two wins, a draw and a defeat in four matches played.
Real Maldives are currently second on six points (two wins and a loss), the same win-lose record as third-placed Foresters.
In the Inner Islands group, Anse Reunion have two wins and a draw for seven points to lead the race ‒ two ahead of runners-up Côte d’Or who have a win and two draws.
As for La Passe, they are third with a win for three points.
The six teams in each of the three groups ‒ Inner Islands, Mahé group 1 and Mahé group 2 ‒ will play each other twice in their respective groups and the top two sides in each pool shall automatically qualify for the National Champions League. The two best third-place finishers among all three groups shall qualify for the National Champions League. The eight teams in the National Champions League will play a double round robin league on a home and away basis, making it a total of 56 matches.
The champions will qualify for the Confederation of African Football (Caf) Champions League.
To determine the two best third-place qualifiers, the following criteria will be used: Greater number of points obtained in group matches, greater number of wins in group matches, and the system of fair play points in accordance with numbers of cards received (yellow card -2, red card -4).
Since the La Digue playing field needs to be renovated and the field certification approved, all Inner Islands group matches are being played on Praslin at Stad Amitié on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. On Mahé, matches are played at Stad Linite on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Two matches shall be played on Saturdays ‒ at 4pm and at 7pm.
The SFF has said it will bring the number of teams in the National Champions League to 10 at the start of the 2023/2024 season when the Championship winners and runners-up are promoted to the top flight.
The following are the league tables
Mahé group 1
|
|
|||||||
|
Position |
Team |
GP |
W |
L |
D |
Pts |
L5 |
|
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
||
|
2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
||
|
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
||
|
4 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
||
|
5 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
||
|
6 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
||
Mahé group 2
|
Position |
Team |
GP |
W |
L |
D |
Pts |
L5 |
|
1 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
||
|
2 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
||
|
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
||
|
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
||
|
5 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
||
|
6 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
Inner islands
|
Position |
Team |
GP |
W |
L |
D |
Pts |
|
1 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
|
|
2 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
|
|
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
|
4 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
5 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
6 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |