Football: SeyPearl Premier League |28 May 2020

St Michel FC have decided to pull out of all competitions

St Michel to pull out of rest of season

Record league winners St Michel Football Club have written to the local football federation to make known their decision to pull out of the remainder of the 2019-2020 season.

The current SeyPearl Premier League leaders took this historic decision on Wednesday after they had held a meeting with their players on Tuesday evening to put this possibility of not taking part in the league which was suspended since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and received the consent of a majority of their players.

For some time now, St Michel had been contemplating with various ideas for the future of our football where at one point, they were appealing to the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) to meet with members to draw up a roadmap, and lately with all the health guidelines and restrictions which made a return to football not their top priority, they were discussing with their executive committee about the financial implications for the rest of the season especially in view of the lack of sponsorship.

In a letter addressed to the SFF on Wednesday afternoon, the St Michel management informed them that they have come to this decision for the future of the club and their continued participation in local football next season in the post coronavirus pandemic period.

“After a series of consultations we have had with our management committee, players and partners, it is with much regret that we would like to inform the SFF that the St Michel United Sports Club has decided not to play its remaining matches scheduled for the rest of the 2019-2020 season, should the league resume in July,” states the letter signed by club chairman Bernard Toulon.

St Michel are leading the league standings by two points from Foresters with five matches to play.

The 2020 Airtel Cup winners went on to list 13 reasons which have forced them to come to this conclusion such as the concern over the coronavirus which has made training impossible to be organised with all the health measures which they have to abide by as well as the suggestion of playing behind closed doors which they feel would further affect them as they would not benefit from gate receipts which is a very viable source of income for this best supported club in local football.

It seems St Michel were faced with this dilemma of if they should take part in the remainder of the league where they would have to spend quite a substantial amount for the six weeks before the end of the 2019-2020 season or if they stay away for the current season and save this cash at a time when sponsorship is unavailable due to the economic meltdown, so that they can have finance for next season. These arguments were also raised in the letter handed to the federation on Wednesday afternoon.

The Anse Aux Pins-based club is also in the process of releasing their foreign players for next season when their current contract expires on July 1 and will allow them to leave when flights resume after informing those concerned with this decision in a bid to cut cost.

SFF president Elvis Chetty’s response

Sports NATION spoke to SFF president Elvis Chetty on the decision by St Michel FC to pull out of all competitions for this season and this was his response.

“St Michel’s decision is regrettable but we understand their arguments though we do not necessarily agree with them. Since we have waived the sanctions that teams who fail to turn up for two matches face in our bye-laws during these unprecedented times, it means they will not face any sanctions but I want to reiterate that the league will continue,” claimed SFF president Chetty.

The SFF president also confirmed that the army team in the shape of Red Star Defence Forces have written to them formally to express their intention not to compete in the remaining matches and another club who many think will also opt out, namely Northern Dynamo, are yet to make their decision known to the federation who awaits this decision to plan ahead for the remaining round of matches. The rest of the top flight teams have confirmed their interest to see the season through with the league and SFF Cup competition planned to resume in early July.

R. J-L.