Football: Airtel Cup-Draw released, competition dates unknown |09 January 2006

Sponsored by telecommunications company Airtel, the Airtel Cup, which has become as popular as any other tournament here, is contested by first division teams only.

The 12 participating teams have been divided into two pools of five and from what Sports Nation has gathered, action in the Airtel Cup could begin during the third week of February.

Pool A comprises reigning Sunkiss’d division one champions La Passe, Sunkiss’d division one runners-up St Louis, 2005 second division champions Northern Dynamo, Red Star and Land Marine Cup losing finalists Anse Réunion.

Pool B is made up of defending Land Marine Cup champions SMB, Sunshine, first division newcomers The Lions, St Michel and Light Stars.

It must be noted that in last year’s re-scheduled final, Red Star avenged their 2004 defeat to St Michel with a comfortable 5-2 win. The original fixture on June 4 was postponed due to bad weather.

Both Red Star and St Michel dominated their respective groups with 20 points out of a possible 24 with six wins and two draws each in eight games.

La Digue teams La Passe, winners of the first edition of the competition in 2003, and Anse Réunion finished as the two group runners-up and lost in the semifinals of last year’s edition of the tournament.

Boasting reigning champions Red Star and 2003 winners La Passe, pool A looks the toughest on paper. If La Passe and Red Star think that things could be easy for them, they should think twice as their main challengers could be Anse Réunion who lost 3-4 to neighbours La Passe in 2003 and St Louis who missed out on reaching last year’s semifinal after losing to St Michel in their last match.

Northern Dynamo, who played in the first two editions of the competition in 2003 and 2004 but missed last year’s after losing the first division play-off to Survivors to play second division football, could also make life difficult for their four opponents.

In the somewhat much easier pool B, St Michel, 4-3 winners on a penalty shoot-out against Red Star after the score had remained locked at 1-1 after extra-time in 2004, can expect the challenge to come from all four teams.

SMB, who shocked Anse Réunion in last year’s Land Marine Cup final to play in the African Confederation Cup against Township Rollers of Botswana, might use the competition to show that they are becoming a force in Seychelles football.

New to first division football after edging Survivors in the play-off, The Lions will be looking to roar and make their opponents understand that they are no push-overs.

Sunshine and Praslin-based Light Stars too can challenge for one of the two top places in the group to make the semifinals.

Pool A

La Passe
St Louis
Northern Dynamo
Red Star
Anse Réunion

Pool B

SMB
Sunshine
The Lions
St Michel
Light Stars

G. G.