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Seychelles national football team facts for kids

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This page is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Seychelles women's national football team.
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Seychelles
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) The Pirates
Association Seychelles Football Federation
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation COSAFA (Southern Africa)
Head coach Ralph Jean-Louis (caretaker)
Captain Benoit Marie
Most caps Benoit Marie (61)
Top scorer Philip Zialor (14)
Home stadium Stade Linité
FIFA code SEY
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 189 Steady (7 February 2019)
Highest 129 (October 2006)
Lowest 202 (February 2020)
Elo ranking
Current 195 Increase 2 (3 March 2019)
Highest 168 (July 2008)
Lowest 199 (January 2020)
First international
Réunion Réunion 2–0 Seychelles 
(Saint-Denis, Réunion; 13 February 1974)
Biggest win
 Seychelles 9–0 Maldives 
(Saint-Pierre, Réunion; 27 August 1979)
Biggest defeat
 Ivory Coast 9–0 Seychelles 
(Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 17 November 2023)
COSAFA Cup
Appearances 11 (first in 2005)
Best result Group stage (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

The Seychelles national football team, nicknamed the Pirates, represents Seychelles in international football and is controlled by the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF). SFF has been a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA since 1986. The team's home stadium is the 10,000-capacity Stade Linité located in Roche Caiman in the outskirts of Victoria, the capital of Seychelles.

History

Football was introduced to Seychelles in the 1930s. Its first official competition, the Challenge Cup, was organized in 1936. Then in 1941, a championship between five teams was set up with matches of 60 minutes, played barefoot.

In 1969, the president of the Seychelles Football Federation wanted to set up a national team. Engaged on a voluntary basis, Adrian Fisher arrived on the island in September to reorganize Seychelles football. He equipped all the players with shoes, introduced contemporary training techniques and extended the match time to 90 minutes. The newly-formed national team played their first matches at a friendly tournament in Kenya in April 1970. In Seychelles' first matches played on a real football pitch, they drew 2–2 against Feisal F.C. then lost 1–2 to Mwengi at Mombasa Municipal Stadium. When Fisher left Seychelles in 1973, the team had played six games against four clubs.

Seychelles played their first match against another national team on March 13, 1974, against Réunion. In this friendly match, the Pirates lost 0–2. Two years later, this time as an independent nation, the Seychelles faced Réunion again, losing 1–4. In September 1977, they played their first match against a FIFA-affiliated team, Mauritius, during a tournament played in Réunion, and lost 1–2. The team enjoyed its first victory the following year by beating Réunion 1–0 at home.

Seychelles v Ethiopia 5 September 2015
Seychelles v Ethiopia at Stade Linité, 5 September 2015

In 1979, Seychelles played their first tournament, the 1979 Indian Ocean Games. They lost their first game 3–0 to Réunion, and beat Maldives 9–0 in their second. In the semi-final, they knocked out Mauritius 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw, but in the final they lost 2–1 to Réunion.

Seychelles were eliminated from the group stage at the 1985 Indian Ocean Games but, on August 31, 1986, they played their first competitive match recognised by FIFA and CAF, following their affiliation with both organisations, a qualification match against Mauritius for the 1987 All-Africa Games, which they lost 1–2. They participated, for the first time, in the 1988 African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Mauritius but lost 1–3 over the two legs.

At the 1990 Indian Ocean Games, the team suffered the heaviest defeat in its history against Madagascar in the semi-final, losing 0–6. In the bronze medal match, they won against Comoros 3–1. Despite hosting the following games, the team failed to repeat this performance, losing all four games and finishing last in the competition.

After the elimination from the preliminary phase of the 1996 African Cup of Nations by Mauritius 2–1 over the two legs, Vojo Gardašević was hired to lead the team. Following that, the Pirates again finished third in the 1998 Indian Ocean Games and, two years later, competed in the World Cup qualifiers for the first time. Playing against Namibia they drew 1–1 in Stade Linité, thanks to a goal by Philip Zialor but lost the second leg 0–3. Seychelles were also eliminated in the preliminary round of the 2000 African Cup of Nations by Zimbabwe 0–6 over the two matches. Seychelles fared better in the qualification for the 2004 African Cup of Nations as the team, led by Dominique Bathenay then Michael Nees, finished third and recorded two prestigious home wins: beating Eritrea 1–0 with a goal by veteran Roddy Victor, and beating a Peter Ndlovu-led Zimbabwe team 2–1 with goals by strikers Alpha Baldé and Philip Zialor. Following that they achieved a bronze medal at the 2003 Indian Ocean Games, then were eliminated in the preliminary round of the 2006 World Cup by Zambia, 1–5 in the two games.

In 2011, Seychelles hosted the 2011 Indian Ocean Island Games and won the tournament for the first time, beating Mauritius in the final on penalties.

The rest of the 2010s saw little success for The Pirates with the high point achieved during 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification where they managed a 2–0 win over Lesotho and a 1–1 draw with Ethiopia to finish third in their four-team group.

FIFA Goal programme

In 2006, a new technical centre in Mahé was opened, with help from the FIFA Goal programme. The project had a total cost of approximately 750,000 USD. James Michel, president of the Seychelles, was present at the inauguration. The technical centre houses the SFF headquarters, an auditorium, 20 bedrooms, two massage rooms, changing rooms and a restaurant. The centre is located next to the turf pitches that were also installed by the Goal programme in 2003.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Seychelles national football team results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

      Win       Draw       Loss       Fixture

2023

Coaches

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
  • England Adrian Fisher (1969–1973)
  • Seychelles Ulrich Mathiot (1991)
  • Germany Helmut Kosmehl (1992–1993)
  • Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Vojo Gardašević (1997–2001)
  • France Dominique Bathenay (2002)
  • Germany Michael Nees (2002–2004)
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo Raoul Shungu (2006–2008)
  • Netherlands Jan Mak (2008)
  • Seychelles Ulrich Mathiot (2008)
  • Sweden Richard Holmlund (2009)
  • Netherlands Jan Mak (2010)
  • Germany Michael Nees (2010)
  • England Andrew Amers-Morrison (2010)
  • Seychelles Ralph Jean-Louis (2010–2011)
  • Seychelles Gavin Jeanne (2012)
  • Netherlands Jan Mak (2013–2014)
  • Seychelles Ulrich Mathiot (2014–2015)
  • Madagascar Bruno Saindini (2015)
  • Seychelles Ralph Jean-Louis (2015–2016)
  • Seychelles Joel de Commarmond (2017)
  • Seychelles Rodney Choisy (2017)
  • Seychelles Gavin Jeanne (2018–2019)
  • Netherlands Jan Mak (2019)
  • Seychelles Ralph Jean-Louis (2020–2021)
  • France Osama Haroun (2021)
  • Seychelles Vivian Bothe (2021–2023)
  • Seychelles Ralph Jean-Louis (2023-)

Players

Squad

The following players were selected for the 2023 Indian Ocean Island Games.

Caps and goals correct as of 11 July 2023, after the match against Zambia.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Alvin Michel (1990-01-05) 5 January 1990 (age 34) 24 0 Seychelles St Michel United
1GK Jean-Paul Lesperance (1990-06-29) 29 June 1990 (age 34) 1 0 Seychelles Côte d'Or
1GK Romeo Padayachy (1993-02-18) 18 February 1993 (age 31) 1 0 Seychelles Light Stars
2DF Julio Brown (1996-08-30) 30 August 1996 (age 28) 8 0 Seychelles St Michel United
2DF Daryl Louise (1998-08-12) 12 August 1998 (age 26) 4 0 England Abingdon United
2DF Don Fanchette (1997-12-03) 3 December 1997 (age 26) 26 0 Seychelles La Passe
2DF Benoit Marie (1992-12-28) 28 December 1992 (age 31) 61 0 Seychelles Côte d'Or
2DF Warren Mellie (1994-10-01) 1 October 1994 (age 30) 33 3 Seychelles Foresters Mont Fleuri
2DF Juninho Mathiot (2000-02-09) 9 February 2000 (age 24) 23 0 Seychelles Saint Louis Suns United
2DF Dean Ballette (1995-06-09) 9 June 1995 (age 29) 11 0 Seychelles St John Bosco
2DF Brandon Molle (2000-04-17) 17 April 2000 (age 24) 4 0 Seychelles Foresters Mont Fleuri
2DF Ramlee Pascal (1991-09-19) 19 September 1991 (age 33) 5 0 Seychelles St Michel United
3MF Dean Mothé (2000-08-01) 1 August 2000 (age 24) 19 0 Seychelles Saint Louis Suns United
3MF Colin Bibi (1995-06-05) 5 June 1995 (age 29) 23 1 Seychelles Saint Louis Suns United
3MF Neil Confiance (1997-08-12) 12 August 1997 (age 27) 4 0 Seychelles St Michel United
3MF Kenner Nourrice (1995-06-10) 10 June 1995 (age 29) 17 0 Seychelles St Michel United
3MF Thierry Camille (2001-12-11) 11 December 2001 (age 22) 4 0 Seychelles Saint John Bosco
3MF Ryan Henriette (2001-01-23) 23 January 2001 (age 23) 14 1 Seychelles Foresters Mont Fleuri
3MF Gerrick Vidot (1994-06-30) 30 June 1994 (age 30) 8 0 Seychelles St John Bosco
4FW Josip Ravignia (2001-01-19) 19 January 2001 (age 23) 18 0 Seychelles St Michel United
3MF Brandon Labrosse (1999-03-11) 11 March 1999 (age 25) 21 2 Seychelles Foresters Mont Fleuri
4FW Hubert Jean (1996-07-26) 26 July 1996 (age 28) 13 1 Seychelles Saint Louis Suns United

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Seychelles squad within the last twelve months.


Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
DF Michael Mancienne (1988-01-08) 8 January 1988 (age 36) 5 1 Retired 2023 Indian Ocean Island GamesRET
DF Darrel Damoo (1989-09-22) 22 September 1989 (age 35) 21 1 Seychelles The Lions 2023 COSAFA Cup
MF Carl Hopprich (1996-03-07) 7 March 1996 (age 28) 12 0 Germany Hertha Zehlendorf 2023 COSAFA Cup
MF Jean-Yves Ernesta (1996-02-10) 10 February 1996 (age 28) 10 1 Seychelles Foresters Mont Fleuri 2023 COSAFA Cup
MF Assad Aboudou (2003-01-03) 3 January 2003 (age 21) 3 0 Seychelles La Passe 2023 COSAFA Cup

INJ Withdrew due to injury
PRE Preliminary/Standby squad
RET Retired from the national team
SUS Serving suspension
WD Withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue
COV Tested positive for COVID-19

Player records

Players in bold are still active with Seychelles.

Most appearances

Rank Name Caps Goals Career
1 Benoit Marie 63 0 2013–present
2 Gervais Waye-Hive 48 6 2012–present
3 Colin Esther 45 2 2008–present
4 Eric Nelson Sopha 44 0 1996–2012
5 Jones Joubert 43 0 2006–2019
6 Achille Henriette 39 6 2006–2016
7 Warren Mellie 35 3 2017–present
8 Henny Dufresne [it] 33 1 2002–2014
Philip Zialor 33 14 1998–2009
10 Yannick Manoo [it] 32 1 2013–present

Top goalscorers

Rank Name Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Philip Zialor 14 33 0.42 1998–2009
2 Alpha Baldé [it] 6 20 0.3 1996–2011
Achille Henriette 6 39 0.15 2006–2016
Gervais Waye-Hive 6 48 0.13 2012–present
5 Perry Monnaie 4 17 0.24 2018–2020
Don Annacoura [it] 4 27 0.15 2000–2011
7 Ralph Jean-Louis 3 10 0.3 1993–2000
Wilnes Brutus [it] 3 12 0.25 2002–2011
Leroy Coralie [es] 3 17 0.18 2016–present
Yelvanny Rose 3 18 0.17 2002–2007
Nelson Laurence 3 25 0.12 2008–2018
Godfrey Denis Armel 3 29 0.1 1998–2008
Warren Mellie 3 35 0.09 2017–present

Competition records

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup Qualification
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1974 Part of  United Kingdom Part of  United Kingdom
1978 to 1986 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
1990 to 1998 Did not enter Did not enter
South Korea Japan 2002 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 1 4
Germany 2006 2 0 1 1 1 5
South Africa 2010 6 0 0 6 4 17
Brazil 2014 2 0 0 2 0 7
Russia 2018 2 0 0 2 0 3
Qatar 2022 2 0 0 2 0 10
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined 2 0 0 2 0 14
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total – 0/9 – – – – – – 18 0 2 16 6 60

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations record Africa Cup of Nations Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Sudan 1957 to Ethiopia 1976 Part of  United Kingdom Part of  United Kingdom
Ghana 1978 to Egypt 1986 Not affiliated to CAF Not affiliated to CAF
Morocco 1988 Did not enter Did not enter
Algeria 1990 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 1 3
Senegal 1992 Withdrew Withdrew
Tunisia 1994 Did not enter Did not enter
South Africa 1996 Withdrew Withdrew
Burkina Faso 1998 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 1 2
Ghana Nigeria 2000 Did not enter Did not enter
Mali 2002
Tunisia 2004 Did not qualify 6 2 0 4 4 10
Egypt 2006 2 0 1 1 1 5
Ghana 2008 6 1 1 4 3 14
Angola 2010 6 0 0 6 4 17
Equatorial Guinea Gabon 2012 Did not enter Did not enter
South Africa 2013 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 7
Equatorial Guinea 2015 Withdrew Withdrew
Gabon 2017 Did not qualify 6 1 1 4 5 11
Egypt 2019 6 0 1 5 3 25
Cameroon 2021 2 0 0 2 1 3
Ivory Coast 2023 2 0 1 1 1 3
Morocco 2025 To be determined To be determined
Kenya Tanzania Uganda 2027
Total – 0/36 – – – – – – 42 5 6 31 24 100

Indian Ocean Island Games

Indian Ocean Island Games record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Réunion 1979 Runners-up 2nd 4 1 1 2 11 6
Mauritius 1985 Group stage 6th 2 0 0 2 1 4
Madagascar 1990 Third place 3rd 3 1 0 2 3 9
Seychelles 1993 Fourth place 4th 4 0 0 4 3 12
Réunion 1998 Third place 3rd 4 2 0 2 9 10
Mauritius 2003 Third place 3rd 4 1 2 1 3 6
Madagascar 2007 Group stage 5th 2 1 0 1 2 4
Seychelles 2011 Champions 1st 5 3 2 0 10 4
Réunion 2015 Group stage 5th 3 1 0 2 4 3
Mauritius 2019 Fourth place 4th 4 0 2 2 2 8
Madagascar 2023 Group Stage 6th 2 0 0 2 0 2
Total 1 Title 11/11 36 10 7 20 48 68

CECAFA Cup

Main article: CECAFA Cup

COSAFA Cup

Main article: COSAFA Cup
Year COSAFA Cup
Round Result M W D L GF GA
2000 Excluded
2001
2002 Did not enter
2003
2004
2005 Round 1 11th 1 0 0 1 0 3
2006 Round 1 7th 2 0 1 1 1 3
2007 Round 1 13th 2 0 0 2 0 7
South Africa 2008 Group stage 11th 3 1 1 1 8 2
Zimbabwe 2009 Group stage 13th 3 0 0 3 2 6
Zambia 2013 Group stage 13th 2 0 0 2 2 8
South Africa 2015 Group stage 13th 3 0 1 2 0 2
Namibia 2016 Group stage 14th 3 0 0 3 0 10
South Africa 2017 Group stage 14th 3 0 0 3 1 10
South Africa 2018 Group stage 12th 3 0 2 1 2 3
South Africa 2019 Group stage 13th 3 0 1 2 0 6
South Africa 2021 Did not enter
South Africa 2022 Group Stage 13th 3 0 0 3 1 6
South Africa 2023 Group Stage 12th 3 0 0 3 2 9
Total Group stage 11/19 34 1 6 27 19 75

Head-to-head record

FIFA members

Opponent
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Algeria 2 0 0 2 0 6 –6
 Angola 1 0 0 1 0 3 –3
 Bangladesh 3 1 1 1 2 2 0
 Botswana 2 0 0 2 0 3 –3
 Burkina Faso 2 0 0 2 3 7 –4
 Burundi 6 0 0 6 3 17 –14
 Comoros 9 3 2 4 12 16 –4
 Congo 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 DR Congo 2 0 0 2 0 7 –7
 Eritrea 3 1 0 2 1 2 –1
 Swaziland 4 0 1 3 1 7 –6
 Ethiopia 2 0 1 1 2 3 –1
 Ivory Coast 1 0 0 1 0 9 –9
 Kenya 5 0 1 4 2 16 –14
 Lesotho 4 1 1 2 4 5 –1
 Libya 2 0 0 2 2 13 –11
 Madagascar 13 0 4 9 6 28 –22
 Malawi 2 0 0 2 0 5 –5
 Maldives 8 4 1 3 21 10 +11
 Mali 2 0 0 2 0 5 –5
 Mauritius 31 6 8 17 32 51 –19
 Mozambique 4 0 1 3 2 6 –4
 Namibia 6 0 3 3 4 12 –8
 Nigeria 2 0 0 2 1 6 –5
 [[Palestinian National Authority {{{altlink}}}|Palestinian National Authority]] 1 0 0 1 0 1 –1
 Rwanda 2 0 0 2 0 10 –10
 San Marino 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
 Sierra Leone 1 0 0 1 0 2 –2
 South Africa 3 0 1 2 0 9 –9
 South Sudan 2 0 0 2 1 3 –2
 Sri Lanka 4 2 1 1 8 5 +3
 Sudan 2 0 0 2 0 5 –5
 Tanzania 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1
 Tunisia 4 0 0 4 0 14 –14
 Uganda 3 0 0 3 2 8 –6
 Zambia 4 0 1 3 3 11 –8
 Zimbabwe 7 1 0 6 3 22 –19
Total 154 20 30 103 119 332 –213

Non FIFA members

Opponent
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Mayotte 3 1 0 2 3 5 –2
 Réunion 16 2 1 13 9 33 –24
Total 19 3 1 15 12 38 –26

Honours

  • Indian Ocean Island Games
    • Med 1.png Champions (1): 2011
    • Med 2.png Runners-up (1): 1979
    • Med 3.png Third Place (3): 1990, 1998, 2003

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Seychelles para niños

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