Football   George Bibi retires, Denis Rose appointed new SFF chief executive   |31 January 2023

George Bibi has retired

Former principal secretary for sports, Denis Rose, has been appointed the new chief executive of the Seychelles Football Federation.

The announcement was made following the retirement of George Bibi who has occupied this post for the past six years.

Mr Rose’s appointment takes effect on February 1, 2023.

Mr Bibi, whose contract ends on January 31 this year (today), has written to the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) chairman Elvis Chetty, expressing his wish not to take on a further contract.

In his retirement letter Mr Bibi averred that his six-year tenure as the SFF’s chief executive had been eventful, exciting, and challenging, with a lot achieved despite many hurdles.

He added that his time as head of the SFF had filled him with a sense of purpose and belonging that no other could offer, and leading the SFF had brought a sense of fulfillment to his life.

“I have been blessed to have had the support of the chairman and everyone at the Federation and I will always be thankful for this amazing opportunity,” he said.

The SFF chairman has profoundly thanked Mr Bibi for the enormous contribution he has made to the development of football in Seychelles.

Recalling that Mr Bibi’s football career has not only been as SFF chief executive but also as player, coach, manager, international Fifa referee and Fifa match commissioner, Mr Chetty said his achievement could be used as an example to motivate the youths who want to make a career in football.

Although no longer the CEO, Mr Bibi will spend the next couple of months completing the handover procedures and compiling his final report to be presented to the SFF congress in April this year as required by regulations.

As for Mr Rose, he joined the federation as deputy chief executive in September last year.

The proposal for him to replace Mr Bibi as CEO was put to the SFF executive committee and was unanimously approved at its meeting held on Tuesday January 10 this year.

Mr Rose has worked in top management positions for over 20 years. After heading Nation Publishing as director and chief editor of the Seychelles NATION newspaper for several years, he became principal secretary for sports in 2006 and occupied that position for the ensuing 10 years.

It was in this capacity that he became the deputy president of the local organising committee of the 11th Indian Ocean Islands Games which Seychelles hosted in 2011 when the country achieved a second-place finish, its best result at the Games.

Other than sports, Mr Rose has also headed the information, community development, youth, arts and culture portfolios at different intervals during his spell as principal secretary, until he left government employment in 2021.

He is a former sprinter who represented Seychelles at the Indian Ocean Islands Games and the Olympic Games in 1984 in Los Angeles, USA, where he was the flag bearer and competed in the men's 100 metres.

Press release from the SFF