Gasikara International Beach Soccer Tournament |01 August 2023

The delegation at the SFF headquarters on the way to the airport yesterday morning (Photo: Contributed)

Seychelles to compete in Malagasy tournament

The Seychelles senior men’s national beach soccer team left the country early yesterday morning to compete in a four-day tournament in Madagascar.

Known as the Gasikara International Beach Soccer Tournament, the competition will be played in the town of Toamasina, Tamatave, from August 2 to 5, 2023.

Four teams – South Africa, Comoros, Seychelles and hosts Gasikara Beach (Madagascar) – will be competing in the tournament.

Now that beach soccer has been removed from the Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG), the Seychellois players are taking this competition very seriously as it will help them assess their level of performance after months of training.

Even after the announcement that beach soccer and women’s football would no longer feature in the IOIG, the Seychellois players have continued training hard.

All the players selected formed part of the two selections who competed, along with six other teams, in the first ever National Day tournament at the beach soccer arena at Roche Caïman in June this year. This competition was won by a Malagasy team made up of regular football players, with one of the two Seychellois selections finishing as runners-up.

A much better result is expected this time as only the 12 most in-form players of the two selections have been selected for the trip.

“We were disappointed when we were told that beach football would not feature in the IOIG but we were happy that the federation understood that we had to continue training in view of the 2025 Beach Soccer World Cup,” explained national team manager and former Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) chief executive George Bibi.

“This is the beginning of a long preparation for the Beach Soccer World Cup 2025. This tournament is considered as part of our long-term training plan,” he continued.

“The objective is to reach the final and come out on top, this is the deal,” he stressed.

“After that we would need to keep going and test as many players as possible in different tournaments so that we will eventually end up with the best team possible come 2025,” he explained.

The SFF is also seeking assistance from a Fédération internationale de Football Association (Fifa) expert to help map out and implement a strategy for the team leading up to the World Cup.

The 12 players are: Martin William, Hansel Coeur de Lion, Terence Ahmade, Elvin Estico, Mikail Jumaye, Mike Balette, Ryan Servina, Aubrey Benoit, Herode Prosper, Stephen Lajoie, Dominic Bouchereau and Jerome Dingwall.

Team manager Bibi will also be the head of delegation. The other officials are Travis Julienne (head coach), Herald Kowlessur (coach), and Damien Jean (kit manager).

The delegation will return on August 7.

Contributed