Latest generation seating facilities for footballers |15 July 2025

Latest generation player seats being installed at Stad Linite (Photos: Contributed)

Latest generation seating facilities for footballers

The Seychelles Football Federation has started installing latest generation substitute and official benches at football venues.

The installation is currently taking place at Stad Linite on Mahé, to be followed by Stad Popiler, La Digue sports complex and eventually on Praslin.

This is in line with the Seychelles Football Federation’s (SFF) drive to help with the modernisation of facilities at playing venues, especially Stad Linite, where certification is being sought for official Confederation of African Football (Caf) and Fédération internationale de Football Association (Fifa) matches.

This introduction of modern seating facilities for players and officials is the result of a development project the SFF submitted to Fifa almost two years ago, following the installation of the new artificial pitch at Stad Linite, also sponsored by Fifa.

The Stad Linite facilities will include a set of 23-seat substitutes benches as required for official Caf and Fifa matches, a four-seat bench for officials and retractable player tunnel.

The SFF is installing the facilities while the government, through the National Sports Council (NSC) and the Seychelles Infrastructure Agency (SIA), is pursuing with the renovation of other facilities including the changing rooms, referees’ rooms, public sanitary facilities, public seating, as well as giving Stad Linite an overall facelift.

Apart from modernising the venue, the installations and renovations are in line with Caf requirements that will eventually lead to the accreditation of Stad Linite as a certified venue for official Caf and Fifa matches.

Last week, Stad Linite received the visit of a Caf stadium inspector to check on the renovation work being done and facilities installed, to determine if these will be enough for Seychelles to receive dispensation to host this year’s home Caf Club Confederation Cup and Champions League matches as well as the World Cup qualifiers in September and October.

While not all the renovations and requirements would have been completed come September and October this year, Caf will determine whether what has been done so far and what is expected to be done until then will be enough to receive temporary permission to host those matches. The Caf report is expected in the coming days.

Meanwhile, the first group of players and officials to enjoy the new facilities at Stad Linite will be the boys and girls teams taking part in the Commission de la Jeunesse et des Sports de l'Océan Indien (CJSOI) Games next month.

Most of the CJSOI football matches, including the finals, will be played at Stad Linite. Some group matches will also be played on the Astroturf pitch at the SFF’s Technical Centre at Roche Caïman.

The upgrading of the players and officials seating facilities has been approved by Fifa as part of its Fifa Forward 3.0 programme, following a submission by the SFF.

The benches and player tunnel being installed at Stad Linite have been imported from France and are of the same type as the ones used at venues of some past African Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals.

Contributed