Football: Cosafa Under-20 championship Seychelles team to leave on Tuesday |03 December 2016

Seychelles coach Vivian Bothe has named his squad for the 2016 Cosafa Under-20 Championships that will be staged in South Africa’s North West province from December 7-16.

The Seychelles team will leave the country on Tuesday December 6 and they will be targeting an improved performance in this year’s championship after a disappointing showing in recent events.

Seychelles will parade what they hope are the next generation of players to continue to help the country improve their national side who have made great strides in recent years.

Most of the players are under the age of 18, making them one of the youngster squads in the tournament.

The Seychelles team have been drawn in a very difficult group C alongside Angola, Sudan and Mauritius.

The country’s best-ever showing in the competition came in 2009 with a 4-2 win against more fancied Namibia in the group stages and then ran regional giants South Africa close before going down to a narrow 2-1 loss.

Coach Vivian Bothe’s assistant is Marc Mathiot.

Georges Bibi is the head of the delegation, Damien Jean the manager and Gracey Narty the medical officer.

The Seychelles squad: Darian Hoareau, Calvin Didon, Juninho Mathiot, Helton Monnaie, Gerard Tirant, Nick Labiche, Christopher Legaie, Adrien Choisy, Rendy Emile, Dino Clarisse, Darren Gonzalves, Neil Confiance, Keron Lafleur, Alexander Esparon, Daryl Louise, Colin Francourt, Denilson Rosette, Churchill Rose, Cliff Cesar and Ricky Pool.

Seychelles will play their first match on Thursday December 8 against Mauritius at the Mogwase Stadium, before meeting Angola on Saturday December 10. They will play their last group C match against Sudan on Monday December 12.

African Youth Championship qualifiers Sudan are the championship’s guests, replacing Namibia who have withdrawn from the competition due to financial constraints.

According to the organisers, the presence of the North Africans will give the competition even more of a continental feel.

The Democratic Republic of Congo are also to compete in South Africa as representatives of Central Africa, providing another fascinating contrast in styles for fans to enjoy.

Sudan won their place at the African Youth Championships by stunning the powerful Nigerians in the qualifiers and have been drawn in group B at the finals in Zambia where they will take on South Africa, Cameroon and Senegal.