School holiday football programme-Grassroots-level development |09 April 2009

Run by the technical department of the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF), the ‘watering and energising our grassroots football’ programme will start on Monday April 21 at the La Promenade playing field.

Boys under 12 years old (born in 1997 onwards) and girls under 14 years old (born in 1995 onwards) can take part in the programme, which will start at 8.45am and end at 4.30pm.

The programme’s objective is to give talented youngsters with potential the opportunity to express themselves in a series of well-defined and exploratory football plans. This will help to tap new talent for future formal training.

In the morning, the youngsters will do basic technical drills and play organised technical games in the form of circuits. There will be six drills of 20 minutes each, and the young players will get a five-minute break after each one. Games with few players on each side are on the programme during the afternoon.

Top local male and female players like Nelson Sopha, Philip Zialor, Alpha Baldé, Denis Barbé, Wilnes Brutus and Vesna César will help run the programme.

“The players’ presence will surely attract youngsters to take part in the programme,” football director Ulric Mathiot told Sports Nation.

“Parents can rest assured that their children will be safe from morning till late afternoon. We will secure the venue and make sure they (the children) don’t leave until their parents come to pick them up,” he added.
The programme will be run during school holidays only.

The first session is on Monday April 21 at the La Promenade playing field and is open to children from the districts of Anse Etoile, English River, Mont Buxton, St Louis and Bel Air.
The rest of the schedule is:

At the Anse Royale Polytechnic field on Tuesday April 21: Children from Anse Aux Pins, Anse Royale and Au Cap;
At the Beau Vallon playing field on Wednesday April 22: Children from Glacis, Beau Vallon and Bel Ombre;
At the Baie Lazare playing field on Thursday April 23: Children from Baie Lazare, Takamaka, Anse Boileau, Grand Anse Mahe and Port Glaud;
At the Mont Fleuri playing field on Friday April 24: Children from Mont Fleuri, Plaisance, La Misère, Cascade, Pointe Larue, Roche Caïman and Les Mamelles;
At the Baie Ste Anne Praslin playing field on Saturday April 25: Children from Baie Ste Anne and Grand Anse Praslin; and
At the La Digue playing field on Saturday April 25: Children from La Digue.

G. G.