Football: 2010 World Cup and CAN qualifiers-The Pirates get Djibouti |30 August 2007
For the first time, Africa has a full quota of 53 entries for the 2010 World Cup preliminaries, which have been divided into three stages.
The bottom 10 African teams in the Fédération internationale de football association (Fifa) rankings have been drawn into five preliminary round ties, which are to be played over two legs in October and November.
Seychelles will face Djibouti, Sierra Leone will take on Guinea-Bissau, Central African Republic will play Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia will meet Swaziland and Madagascar will take on Comoros.
The five winners will join 43 other countries in the first group phase, where the teams will be divided into 12 groups of four teams each at the World Cup draw in Durban on Sunday November 25.
They will play six rounds of matches through 2008 with the 12 group winners plus eight best runners-up progressing to the last league stage.
The 20 remaining teams are to be divided into a final stage of five groups of four, with the resultant group winners going on to the World Cup in South Africa and the top three in each group qualifying for the 2010 Nations Cup finals in Angola.
South Africa are the first World Cup hosts in more than 70 years to participate in its own qualifying competition, although they will play in the finals regardless of their performance.
Should South Africa finish top of their group, the runners-up will qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
Africa will have six teams at the World Cup finals for the first time.
It is to note that the only previous World Cup host forced to play a preliminary tie was Italy in 1934. They played a single match against Greece just months before the finals, winning 4-0 in Milan before the Greeks withdrew from the return match.
This is the third time Seychelles are participating in the World Cup qualifiers.
In 2000, during their baptism of fire, Seychelles, then under Yugoslav coach Vojo Gardasevic, held Namibia to a 1-1 draw at Stad Linite thanks to a spectacular goal by Philip Zialor before losing the return leg fixture 0-3 to bow out of the preliminary round of the qualifiers.
In 2003, the team, who were under the guidance of German coach Michael Nees, held Zambia to a 1-1 away draw after having suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Chipolopolo at Stad Linite in the first leg of the preliminary round of the 2006 World Cup qualifiers.
Robert Suzette got the Seychelles team equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Zambia.
G.G