Letter to the Editor-The state of local football |09 November 2012

Maillet has over recent years made massive strides on the African continent with some excellent performances. Surely he has made our country proud and he must now see this new venture as a huge challenge which I hope he can very much fulfil.

Now, the question is does the local federation has the right and competent replacement for Maillet? Certainly the departure of Maillet has left a huge void behind.

On the other hand, one issue which has been making headlines in recent days is the ongoing saga of ‘illegal transfer of players’ involving clubs like La Passe, Anse Reunion, LightStars and St Louis Suns. Some football club managers have expressed their concerns and the majority of them want to see the dissolution of the Seychelles Football Federation executive committee. What next for the federation?

On the other hand, I must congratulate Mr Clive Delorié, the manager of Northern Dynamo, who initiated this whole investigation a few months ago. But how come the secretariat of the federation took so long to come to a decision on this matter, especially when the deduction of points had been agreed upon?

And why have they decided to react now – at such a critical stage of the season – with the title to be decided this weekend? This clearly shows that there are some fundamental weaknesses within the federation's setup. The federation has failed in its duty to advise and guide their member clubs.

Therefore this ongoing saga should be a lesson to all our registered football clubs. The management of football teams must be well informed and must abide by the rules when it comes to the issue of acquiring foreign players.

I am also very saddened to see that in recent months, our top division has been attracting fewer and fewer spectators. Stad Linite has become more-or-less a dull venue.

This must be a major concern for the federation and the clubs in particular. Certainly, this is not a good image and mileage for football – the most popular sport here – after winning the gold medal at the last Indian Ocean Island Games.

Is it because that the level of the game has drastically gone down? Or does this have to do with the inconsistent performance by officials who have caused and are continuing to cause so much controversies?
Surely at the moment, the state of our football does not look rosy.

Derek Pothin