Interview with NSC chief executive Jean Larue about the future of sports in Seychelles |25 May 2020
NSC chief executive Larue
‘NSC focused on Seychelles’ sports future’
National Sports Council chief executive Jean Larue has said his organisation is focused on the future of sports in this country in the post COVID-19 pandemic.
Gradual return
Speaking to Sports NATION in response to much criticism from federations and sportsmen alike on how the National Sports Council (NSC) is handling the restart after a two-month break where some feel that the sports authorities are not working to promote sports in this difficult period, Mr Larue said that caution is needed before competitions get back to the venues.
“I want to make it very clear that I, like most sports lovers, am definitely interested to see the restart of sports here but we must ensure that it happens with safety as the top priority and this is what we are trying to convey to all the federations as it does not make sense to open the venues without any control and guidelines especially after the coronavirus pandemic which forced sports to be cancelled. Therefore, we want to see a gradual return with calculated risks and well-thought out programmes similar to what we are seeing at international level such as in the Bundesliga in Germany,” explained CEO Larue.
CEO Larue added that quite a number of sports have begun training and refuted allegations that the NSC had ordered the closure of some of its venues, especially on the inner islands thus affecting training in preparation for the start of the 2020 season.
“Our venues have reopened two weeks after we had issued the health guidelines for sportsmen to abide by and more so in regards to social distancing where training would start with small groups and that sports activities would resume as of June 1. But on the other hand, I can also state that I have seen some sports activities on other fields which is not controlled by NSC where there are question marks if these people are conscious of the need to practice the health advisory and these are worrying observations which our sportsmen must discontinue if the whole country wants to combat this virus,” noted the NSC boss.
Foreigners in our sports
Sports NATION also enquired with CEO Larue about the future of foreign coaches assisting the different federations as well as the quota of foreign players who operate in our local leagues which currently stands at two on the court at any time and in the case of football, they opted for three players on the field.
“At the moment, we are still discussing the issues of foreign coaches who are employed by NSC and we are analysing the situation. As for the quota for foreign players, this is being reviewed at a very high level in this post COVID-19 era and there will be an announcement soon on this subject,” claimed Mr Larue.
With the economic downturn where sponsorship is in serious doubt and will be unavailable, it looks very likely that local sports clubs will be releasing their foreign players in order to cut cost and there are even suggestions that the country should consider running an all-Seychellois league next season.
High level athletes
Mr Larue also addressed concerns about the future of our own athletes who are on the high level programme and as a result, receive a monthly allowance from NSC.
While there are fears that this financial assistance would cease with enforced budget cuts in all sectors of the government, CEO Larue said they will be reviewing the programme.
“We will surely review this programme in its entirety such as how athletes qualify to join this scheme and what procedure to exit as we want a system that is based on performance and where we expect athletes who are benefitting from this programme are meeting high standards. We do not plan to punish anyone though it is normal that if we are investing heavily in athletes, we expect results from them in a specified period of time and so if the results are not forthcoming, we can also relegate them to a lower level for those who are underperforming but at the same time promote the performing athletes,” remarked CEO Larue.
Stadium lease
CEO Larue responded to queries from Sports NATION on ongoing negotiations with the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) about the lease of Stad Linite as the SFF is keen to secure this venue to meet requirements of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) in regards to stadiums which are used for African club competitions.
“We are currently in negotiations with the SFF about a usage agreement which we have drafted and it’s on the table for discussion, but it will need a give and take approach from both sides if we have to reach a compromise,” CEO Larue stated.
It seems the SFF is eager to get a lease agreement of 20 years and are also ready to invest in upgrading this venue with new lights and other facilities but it appears that the two parties need more discussions before reaching a consensus.
Federations under scrutiny
Mr Larue was asked about the ongoing problems certain federations are facing with the Office of the Registrar as their houses are not in order, but the NSC boss said the onus is on each federation to sort out their problems as they are independent entities.
“It is obvious that the federations must sort out their problems by themselves as when they are formed, they are obliged to register with the Office of the Registrar and then receive a business certificate and as a result, they have certain requirements that they need to fulfill and therefore if they get into difficulty, it is not the responsibility of NSC to resolve their problems but rather to guarantee discipline and order and do away with this attitude of laissez-faire which has marred our sports for too long,” Mr Larue said.
Meeting with federations
The NSC chief executive went on to say that he is on track to meet all the federations in the coming week to plan for the future of sports so that they can cope with life after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I have managed to meet a number of federations as I had promised and hope to complete this audit with all of them in a couple of days so that we can plan for the future as we are encouraging the ones that have already done their annual general meetings to get started in the weeks ahead while for others, we looked at how to handle things for the season,” Mr Larue said as he also revealed that tennis players will get started this week at the Roche Caïman sports complex.
Debate over closed doors
As for the ongoing debate over the resumption of sports either behind closed doors or with spectators, CEO Larue felt that this will be a decision for each federation to make in light of the health guidelines.
“The decision if to allow spectators or not will depend on each federation as long as they can abide by the health guidelines which will be the deciding factor, but we hope that they all assume their responsibility whatever choice they make bearing in mind the safety of everyone is top priority. But we must also note that we as NSC adopt an open door policy to meet all federations and the general public as we are here to serve and assist them to the best of our ability,” insisted Mr Larue.
NSC challenges
Commenting on the renovation of sports venues which has been put on hold with the R10 million budget cut NSC has had to face to help the health department in this post COVID-29 period, CEO Larue said he understands the need to effect these cuts for health reasons but nevertheless this will delay works on venues such as the Palais des Sports, Stad Popiler, to name a few, which will, as a result, have an impact on their upgrading for the benefit of sportsmen.
Way forward for NSC
Nonetheless, CEO Larue said that he wants the federations to look at different avenues they can explore on how to promote sports at grass root level to make sure our sports have a bright future despite the current difficulties.
“This period provides us with an opportunity to reassess our plans where we should focus at talent identification at grass root level and we should encourage the federations to organise competitions at the different age groups such as at under-15, 16 and 17 levels so that we can groom young sportsmen and women to be prepared for competitions at national levels in a couple of years at a point where our youth development programme has been affected with no international competitions such as the ‘Zwe Lespwar Sesel’,” CEO Larue told Sports NATION in conclusion.
R. J-L.
