Seychellois youngster signs for Portuguese side Marítimo |07 February 2017
An 18-year-old, originally from La Louise, Mahé, has this week signed for Portuguese 1st Division team C.S. Marítimo.
Carlos Patrick Simeon, now living in the UK, has joined the club, currently 6th in the Portuguese Primeira Liga.
Simeon moved to the UK at the age of 7 and developed his footballing skills in North London, excelling for numerous junior and youth teams. Simeon has played in many positions but has expressed a preference for playing centre midfield.
He has dual British and Seychellois nationality, so he has the option of playing for either England or Seychelles. However, he has indicated his pride for his Seychellois background and therefore is likely, if ever approached by the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF), to select the Seychelles as his national team.
Club Sport Marítimo, commonly known as Marítimo locally, is a Portuguese sports club, founded in Funchal, Madeira, in 1910. Marítimo is best known for its football team that currently plays in the top-flight competition, the Primeira Liga. The club's reserve team, Marítimo B, compete in the third division. Aside from football, Marítimo also have teams in other sports competing in national leagues, such as volleyball, handball, roller hockey and athletics. Marítimo supporters are nicknamed Maritimistas.
The club has won one national title, the Campeonato de Portugal, in 1926. After a long period without being able to participate in national championships, they finally made their appearance in 1973. Since then Marítimo have been present for thirty-seven seasons in Primeira Liga, have been two times runners-up of the Taça de Portugal, two times runners-up of the Taça da Liga, and participated eight times in the UEFA Cup/Europa League. The club have also won the II Divisão twice.
Marítimo's most recent foray into European competition came in 2012, when they reached the group stage of the Europa League. The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) ranking lists Marítimo as the fifth best Portuguese club of this century, the highest ranking of any club from Madeira.
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