Football friendly matches Under-20 national team, Northern Dynamo set to face Promedkilnik SC |10 February 2018

Seychelles’ under-20 national team and Northern Dynamo FC are to face Promedkilnik SC from Germany in friendly matches this coming week.

The German team’s first match is on Monday February 12 against the Seychelles under-20 national team and they will play their second encounter against Northern Dynamo FC on Wednesday February 14. Both matches will be played at Stad Linite, starting at 5.30pm. Tickets cost R35 for both games and locals are encouraged to come and support the teams.

Still in the early stage of the year, Promedkilnik SC from Germany have travelled to Seychelles at their own expenses to face off against our local teams. Promedkilnik SC consist of veteran players and some of them played in Liga 3 in Germany. The players are aged between 30 and 40 years old.

This tour is an annual tour for them as they faced off against the United Arab Emirates’ over-40 national team in Dubai in 2015, met the Sri Lankan national team in Colombo in 2016 and last year they were in Muscat to face off against Al Hamra and the Oman Airport team.

The players of the Seychelles under-20 national team only started training yesterday and they will train again today.

The main benefit from this match as explained by the chief executive (CEO) of the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) George Bibi, is the experience the players stand to gain in preparation for the forthcoming Jeux de la Commission de la Jeunesse et des Sports de l’Océan Indien (CJSOI) later this year. The team also consist of players from the under-17 squad and four players from Praslin and another four from La Digue. Leading the team will be coach Jim Louis who will also be with the team during the Jeux de la CJSOI.

“The team we will be facing are made up of veteran players who are in their late 30s and early 40s. They financed for their whole travel, even accommodation. We simply provide transport to the playing venue and back to their hotel. This should be interesting for the kids because it will be a test to see their abilities in a real match. We’ll see how they deal under pressure and for some of the kids, it’s a good preparation for the Jeux de la CJSOI. We are currently training and this will serve as a good challenge at the beginning of the year,” said CEO Bibi.

Northern Dynamo FC are the local team invited to play against the German side and coach Cliff Nolin also thinks of this match as a good test, especially at the beginning of the year, before the season starts. He explained that his squad has changed from last year’s and he is busy looking for players to build a solid team after winning the Airtel Cup last year.

“In terms of next week’s match, I don’t know the level of ability of the other team. For us, this comes as a preparation match and it will be a good experience for the players before the league starts. We’ve had to re-build the whole defence with players going on loan with other teams, so it will be interesting to see how well our system holds up. We’ve acquired new players, and this will be a good challenge to see how they perform on the pitch,” said coach Nolin.

Rodney Rose