New season to open February 23 with President’s Cup-Football |11 January 2013

Speaking to Sports Nation, SFF secretary general Jemmy Adela said the curtain-raiser President’s Cup match on Saturday February 23 will open the new season – some three months since the end of the last campaign.

The curtain-raiser to the new domestic season – the President’s Cup match – is played between the previous year’s league champions and cup winners.
 
On Saturday February 23, Barclays league division one champions St Michel will meet reigning Land Marine Cup winners Anse Reunion to decide who will take home the first trophy of the new football campaign.

St Michel retained the President’s Cup last year with a 5-3 victory in a penalty shootout against La Passe after the match had ended on stalemate (0-0).

The President’s Cup match will be played in between the preliminary round games of the African club competitions St Michel and Anse Reunion are taking part in this year.

Drawn against Tusker in the preliminary round of the Caf Champions League, St Michel will play hosts to the Kenyan league champions during the weekend of February 15-17, 2013 before travelling to Nairobi for the return leg encounter a fortnight later (March 1-3, 2013).

Land Marine Cup winners after edging Côte d’Or 3-2 in last month’s final, Anse Reunion will meet Gor Mahia in the preliminary round of the Caf Confederation Cup.

 The La Digue-based team will travel to Kenya for the first leg encounter on the weekend of February 15-17, 2013 before playing the return leg at Stad Linite on the weekend of March 1-3, 2013.

A total of 29 teams will compete in the three Barclays-sponsored leagues and other cup competitions like Airtel Cup and Land Marine Cup this year.

The 10 teams who will play in the Barclays league division one are defending champions St Michel, runners-up La Passe, St Francis, Anse Reunion, LightStars, St Roch, Northern Dynamo, St Louis Suns, Côte d’Or and newcomers The Lions who won the 2012 Barclays league division one title.

Local football pundits are predicting that this season's Barclays league division one will be very competitive after St Michel were challenged all the way last year, losing two titles in 2012 after making a clean sweep in 2011.

Praslin side Côte d’Or won the Land Marine Cup with a 1-0 win over St Michel and just missed out of a cup double after they were edged 3-2 by La Digue-based Anse Reunion in the Land Marine Cup final.

The nine teams making up the division two league are demoted Quincy, SMB, Foresters, SPDF, newcomers Mont Buxton, St John Bosco, Au Cap, Tigers and Revengers of Praslin.

Division three will be made up of 10 teams – demoted West Coast Brothers, Mont Fleuri, Agrics, Beau Vallon, Bel Air, Plaisance and newly registered Perseverance FC, Baie Lazare FC, Rude Boyz and Real Boys United.

G. G.