Former footballer Vincent Pillay passes away |05 January 2021

Vincent (front row, left) with the Plaisance team in 1988

The untimely and sudden demise of Vincent Pillay has shocked the country. This is because Vincent is the first casualty of the coronavirus to be recorded in Seychelles.

He passed away during the evening of Sunday January 3, 2021 at the isolation centre at Perseverance.

He was 57 years old.

Vincent leaves behind his wife Christa and son Christ.

In a statement to the media yesterday morning at State House, President Wavel Ramkalawan, who was given permission by the family to make public the identity of Vincent, described him as a “personal friend”.

“I have personally spoken to Christa (wife) and Christ (son) to express my condolences and to wish them courage at this difficult time,” President Ramkalawan told the media.

Vincent was a well-known footballer who played for Plaisance during the regionalisation era and the national team in the 1980s and early 1990s.

He made a name for himself as a central defender with the Plaisance football team and was called to the national team.

Good in the air, Vincent lined up alongside fellow centre back Gonzague Boniface and they formed a formidable center-back pairing who worked on the same wavelength and complemented each other.

Sports NATION sends its condolences to the family of Vincent and may his soul rests in peace.

Gerard Govinden