Seychelles national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Seychelles women's national football team.

The Seychelles national football team, nicknamed the Pirates, represents Seychelles in international football and is controlled by the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF). SFF has been a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA since 1986. The team's home stadium is the 10,000-capacity Stade Linité located in Roche Caiman in the outskirts of Victoria, the capital of Seychelles.

Seychelles

Nickname(s)	The Pirates
Association	Seychelles Football Federation
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	COSAFA (Southern Africa)
Head coach	Ralph Jean-Louis (caretaker)
Captain	Benoit Marie
Most caps	Benoit Marie (61)
Top scorer	Philip Zialor (14)
Home stadium	Stade Linité
FIFA code	SEY
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	197 2 (4 April 2024)
Highest	129 (October 2006)
Lowest	202 (February 2020)
First international
Réunion 2–0 Seychelles (Saint-Denis, Réunion; 13 February 1974)
Biggest win
Seychelles 9–0 Maldives (Saint-Pierre, Réunion; 27 August 1979)
Biggest defeat
Ivory Coast 9–0 Seychelles (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 17 November 2023)
COSAFA Cup
Appearances	11 (first in 2005)
Best result	Group stage (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

History

Football was introduced to Seychelles in the 1930s. Its first official competition, the Challenge Cup, was organized in 1936. Then in 1941, a championship between five teams was set up with matches of 60 minutes, played barefoot.

In 1969, the president of the Seychelles Football Federation wanted to set up a national team. Engaged on a voluntary basis, Adrian Fisher arrived on the island in September to reorganize Seychelles football. He equipped all the players with shoes, introduced contemporary training techniques and extended the match time to 90 minutes. The newly-formed national team played their first matches at a friendly tournament in Kenya in April 1970. In Seychelles' first matches played on a real football pitch, they drew 2–2 against Feisal F.C. then lost 1–2 to Mwengi at Mombasa Municipal Stadium. When Fisher left Seychelles in 1973, the team had played six games against four clubs.

Seychelles played their first match against another national team on March 13, 1974, against Réunion. In this friendly match, the Pirates lost 0–2. Two years later, this time as an independent nation, the Seychelles faced Réunion again, losing 1–4. In September 1977, they played their first match against a FIFA-affiliated team, Mauritius, during a tournament played in Réunion, and lost 1–2. The team enjoyed its first victory the following year by beating Réunion 1–0 at home.

Seychelles v Ethiopia at Stade Linité, 5 September 2015

In 1979, Seychelles played their first tournament, the 1979 Indian Ocean Games. They lost their first game 3–0 to Réunion, and beat Maldives 9–0 in their second. In the semi-final, they knocked out Mauritius 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw, but in the final they lost 2–1 to Réunion.

Seychelles were eliminated from the group stage at the 1985 Indian Ocean Games but, on August 31, 1986, they played their first competitive match recognised by FIFA and CAF, following their affiliation with both organisations, a qualification match against Mauritius for the 1987 All-Africa Games, which they lost 1–2. They participated, for the first time, in the 1988 African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Mauritius but lost 1–3 over the two legs.

At the 1990 Indian Ocean Games, the team suffered the heaviest defeat in its history against Madagascar in the semi-final, losing 0–6. In the bronze medal match, they won against Comoros 3–1. Despite hosting the following games, the team failed to repeat this performance, losing all four games and finishing last in the competition.

After the elimination from the preliminary phase of the 1996 African Cup of Nations by Mauritius 2–1 over the two legs, Vojo Gardašević was hired to lead the team. Following that, the Pirates again finished third in the 1998 Indian Ocean Games and, two years later, competed in the World Cup qualifiers for the first time. Playing against Namibia they drew 1–1 in Stade Linité, thanks to a goal by Philip Zialor but lost the second leg 0–3. Seychelles were also eliminated in the preliminary round of the 2000 African Cup of Nations by Zimbabwe 0–6 over the two matches. Seychelles fared better in the qualification for the 2004 African Cup of Nations as the team, led by Dominique Bathenay then Michael Nees, finished third and recorded two prestigious home wins: beating Eritrea 1–0 with a goal by veteran Roddy Victor, and beating a Peter Ndlovu-led Zimbabwe team 2–1 with goals by strikers Alpha Baldé and Philip Zialor. Following that they achieved a bronze medal at the 2003 Indian Ocean Games, then were eliminated in the preliminary round of the 2006 World Cup by Zambia, 1–5 in the two games.

In 2011, Seychelles hosted the 2011 Indian Ocean Island Games and won the tournament for the first time, beating Mauritius in the final on penalties.

The rest of the 2010s saw little success for The Pirates with the high point achieved during 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification where they managed a 2–0 win over Lesotho and a 1–1 draw with Ethiopia to finish third in their four-team group.

FIFA Goal programme

In 2006, a new technical centre in Mahé was opened, with help from the FIFA Goal programme. The project had a total cost of approximately 750,000 USD. James Michel, president of the Seychelles, was present at the inauguration. The technical centre houses the SFF headquarters, an auditorium, 20 bedrooms, two massage rooms, changing rooms and a restaurant. The centre is located next to the turf pitches that were also installed by the Goal programme in 2003.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Seychelles national football team results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

Bangladesh v Seychelles

25 March Friendly	Bangladesh	1–0	Seychelles	Sylhet, Bangladesh
15:45 BST	Tariq 42'	Report		Stadium: Sylhet District Stadium Attendance: 1,679 Referee: Virendha Rai (Bhutan)

Bangladesh v Seychelles

28 March Friendly	Bangladesh	0–1	Seychelles	Sylhet, Bangladesh
15:45 BST		Report	Mancienne 61' (pen.)	Stadium: Sylhet District Stadium

Seychelles v Comoros

6 July 2023 COSAFA Cup	Seychelles	0–3	Comoros	Durban
15:00		Report	Djambae 27' Djoudja 39' Bacar 59'	Stadium: King Zwelithini Stadium

Malawi v Seychelles

Seychelles v Zambia

11 July 2023 COSAFA Cup	Seychelles	2–4	Zambia	KwaMashu
15:00	Labrosse 81' Mellie 90' (pen.)	Report	Kangwanda 11' Kanguluma 54' Mashata 58' Mulambia 73'	Stadium: Princess Magogo Stadium

Madagascar v Seychelles

Mauritius v Seychelles

Ivory Coast v Seychelles

17 November 2023 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Ivory Coast	9–0	Seychelles	Abidjan, Ivory Coast
19:00 UTC±0	Haller 20' (pen.) Sangaré 24' Adingra 36' Konaté 40' (pen.), 90+5' Fofana 60' Traorè 77', 90+4' Krasso 84' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Alassane Ouattara Stadium Referee: Adalbert Diouf (Senegal)

Seychelles v Kenya

20 November 2023 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Seychelles	0–5	Kenya	Abidjan, Ivory Coast
19:00 UTC±0		Report	Olunga 3', 6' Juma 45+3' Onyango 62' Omala 73'	Stadium: Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny Referee: Younoussa Camara (Guinea)

Coaches

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

• Adrian Fisher (1969–1973)
• Ulrich Mathiot (1991)
• Helmut Kosmehl (1992–1993)
• Vojo Gardašević (1997–2001)
• Dominique Bathenay (2002)
• Michael Nees (2002–2004)
• Raoul Shungu (2006–2008)
• Jan Mak (2008)
• Ulrich Mathiot (2008)
• Richard Holmlund (2009)
• Jan Mak (2010)
• Michael Nees (2010)
• Andrew Amers-Morrison (2010)
• Ralph Jean-Louis (2010–2011)
• Gavin Jeanne (2012)
• Jan Mak (2013–2014)
• Ulrich Mathiot (2014–2015)
• Bruno Saindini (2015)
• Ralph Jean-Louis (2015–2016)
• Joel de Commarmond (2017)
• Rodney Choisy (2017)
• Gavin Jeanne (2018–2019)
• Jan Mak (2019)
• Ralph Jean-Louis (2020–2021)
• Osama Haroun (2021)
• Vivian Bothe (2021–2023)
• Ralph Jean-Louis (2023–)

Players

Squad

The following players were selected for the 2023 Indian Ocean Island Games.

Caps and goals correct as of 11 July 2023, after the match against Zambia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Alvin Michel	(1990-01-05) 5 January 1990	24	0	St Michel United
	1GK	Jean-Paul Lesperance	(1990-06-29) 29 June 1990	1	0	Côte d'Or
	1GK	Romeo Padayachy	(1993-02-18) 18 February 1993	1	0	Light Stars
	2DF	Julio Brown	(1996-08-30) 30 August 1996	8	0	St Michel United
	2DF	Daryl Louise	(1998-08-12) 12 August 1998	4	0	Abingdon United
	2DF	Don Fanchette	(1997-12-03) 3 December 1997	26	0	La Passe
	2DF	Benoit Marie	(1992-12-28) 28 December 1992	61	0	Côte d'Or
	2DF	Warren Mellie	(1994-10-01) 1 October 1994	33	3	Foresters Mont Fleuri
	2DF	Juninho Mathiot	(2000-02-09) 9 February 2000	23	0	Saint Louis Suns United
	2DF	Dean Ballette	(1995-06-09) 9 June 1995	11	0	St John Bosco
	2DF	Brandon Molle	(2000-04-17) 17 April 2000	4	0	Foresters Mont Fleuri
	2DF	Ramlee Pascal	(1991-09-19) 19 September 1991	5	0	St Michel United
	3MF	Dean Mothé	(2000-08-01) 1 August 2000	19	0	Saint Louis Suns United
	3MF	Colin Bibi	(1995-06-05) 5 June 1995	23	1	Saint Louis Suns United
	3MF	Neil Confiance	(1997-08-12) 12 August 1997	4	0	St Michel United
	3MF	Kenner Nourrice	(1995-06-10) 10 June 1995	17	0	St Michel United
	3MF	Thierry Camille	(2001-12-11) 11 December 2001	4	0	Saint John Bosco
	3MF	Ryan Henriette	(2001-01-23) 23 January 2001	14	1	Foresters Mont Fleuri
	3MF	Gerrick Vidot	(1994-06-30) 30 June 1994	8	0	St John Bosco
	4FW	Josip Ravignia	(2001-01-19) 19 January 2001	18	0	St Michel United
	3MF	Brandon Labrosse	(1999-03-11) 11 March 1999	21	2	Foresters Mont Fleuri
	4FW	Hubert Jean	(1996-07-26) 26 July 1996	13	1	Saint Louis Suns United

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Seychelles squad within the last twelve months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
DF	Michael Mancienne	(1988-01-08) 8 January 1988	5	1	Retired	2023 Indian Ocean Island GamesRET
DF	Darrel Damoo	(1989-09-22) 22 September 1989	21	1	The Lions	2023 COSAFA Cup
MF	Carl Hopprich	(1996-03-07) 7 March 1996	12	0	Hertha Zehlendorf	2023 COSAFA Cup
MF	Jean-Yves Ernesta	(1996-02-10) 10 February 1996	10	1	Foresters Mont Fleuri	2023 COSAFA Cup
MF	Assad Aboudou	(2003-01-03) 3 January 2003	3	0	La Passe	2023 COSAFA Cup
INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary/Standby squad RET Retired from the national team SUS Serving suspension WD Withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue COV Tested positive for COVID-19

Player records

As of 20 November 2023

Players in bold are still active with Seychelles.

Most appearances

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Benoit Marie	63	0	2013–present
2	Gervais Waye-Hive	48	6	2012–present
3	Colin Esther	45	2	2008–present
4	Eric Nelson Sopha	44	0	1996–2012
5	Jones Joubert	43	0	2006–2019
6	Achille Henriette	39	6	2006–2016
7	Warren Mellie	35	3	2017–present
8	Henny Dufresne	33	1	2002–2014
	Philip Zialor	33	14	1998–2009
10	Yannick Manoo	32	1	2013–present

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Philip Zialor	14	33	0.42	1998–2009
2	Alpha Baldé	6	20	0.3	1996–2011
	Achille Henriette	6	39	0.15	2006–2016
	Gervais Waye-Hive	6	48	0.13	2012–present
5	Perry Monnaie	4	17	0.24	2018–2020
	Don Annacoura	4	27	0.15	2000–2011
7	Ralph Jean-Louis	3	10	0.3	1993–2000
	Wilnes Brutus	3	12	0.25	2002–2011
	Leroy Coralie	3	17	0.18	2016–present
	Yelvanny Rose	3	18	0.17	2002–2007
	Nelson Laurence	3	25	0.12	2008–2018
	Godfrey Denis Armel	3	29	0.1	1998–2008
	Warren Mellie	3	35	0.09	2017–present

Competition records

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup										Qualification
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1974	Part of United Kingdom									Part of United Kingdom
1978 to 1986	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1990 to 1998	Did not enter									Did not enter
2002	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	1	4
2006										2	0	1	1	1	5
2010										6	0	0	6	4	17
2014										2	0	0	2	0	7
2018										2	0	0	2	0	3
2022										2	0	0	2	0	10
2026	To be determined									2	0	0	2	0	14
2030										To be determined
2034
Total	–	0/9	–	–	–	–	–	–		18	0	2	16	6	60

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations record										Africa Cup of Nations Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1957 to 1976	Part of United Kingdom									Part of United Kingdom
1978 to 1986	Not affiliated to CAF									Not affiliated to CAF
1988	Did not enter									Did not enter
1990	Did not qualify									2	1	0	1	1	3
1992	Withdrew									Withdrew
1994	Did not enter									Did not enter
1996	Withdrew									Withdrew
1998	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	1	2
2000	Did not enter									Did not enter
2002
2004	Did not qualify									6	2	0	4	4	10
2006										2	0	1	1	1	5
2008										6	1	1	4	3	14
2010										6	0	0	6	4	17
2012	Did not enter									Did not enter
2013	Did not qualify									2	0	0	2	0	7
2015	Withdrew									Withdrew
2017	Did not qualify									6	1	1	4	5	11
2019										6	0	1	5	3	25
2021										2	0	0	2	1	3
2023										2	0	1	1	1	3
2025	Excluded									Excluded
2027	To be determined									To be determined
Total	–	0/36	–	–	–	–	–	–		42	5	6	31	24	100

Indian Ocean Island Games

Indian Ocean Island Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1979	Runners-up	2nd	4	1	1	2	11	6
1985	Group stage	6th	2	0	0	2	1	4
1990	Third place	3rd	3	1	0	2	3	9
1993	Fourth place	4th	4	0	0	4	3	12
1998	Third place	3rd	4	2	0	2	9	10
2003	Third place	3rd	4	1	2	1	3	6
2007	Group stage	5th	2	1	0	1	2	4
2011	Champions	1st	5	3	2	0	10	4
2015	Group stage	5th	3	1	0	2	4	3
2019	Fourth place	4th	4	0	2	2	2	8
2023	Group Stage	6th	2	0	0	2	0	2
Total	1 Title	11/11	36	10	7	20	48	68

CECAFA Cup

Main article: CECAFA Cup

COSAFA Cup

Main article: COSAFA Cup

Year	COSAFA Cup
	Round	Result	M	W	D	L	GF	GA
2000	Excluded
2001
2002	Did not enter
2003
2004
2005	Round 1	11th	1	0	0	1	0	3
2006	Round 1	7th	2	0	1	1	1	3
2007	Round 1	13th	2	0	0	2	0	7
2008	Group stage	11th	3	1	1	1	8	2
2009	Group stage	13th	3	0	0	3	2	6
2013	Group stage	13th	2	0	0	2	2	8
2015	Group stage	13th	3	0	1	2	0	2
2016	Group stage	14th	3	0	0	3	0	10
2017	Group stage	14th	3	0	0	3	1	10
2018	Group stage	12th	3	0	2	1	2	3
2019	Group stage	13th	3	0	1	2	0	6
2021	Did not enter
2022	Group Stage	13th	3	0	0	3	1	6
2023	Group Stage	12th	3	0	0	3	2	9
Total	Group stage	11/19	34	1	6	27	19	75

Head-to-head record

As of 21 September 2023

FIFA members

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Algeria	2	0	0	2	0	6	–6
Angola	1	0	0	1	0	3	–3
Bangladesh	3	1	1	1	2	2	0
Botswana	2	0	0	2	0	3	–3
Burkina Faso	2	0	0	2	3	7	–4
Burundi	6	0	0	6	3	17	–14
Comoros	9	3	2	4	12	16	–4
Congo	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
DR Congo	2	0	0	2	0	7	–7
Eritrea	3	1	0	2	1	2	–1
Eswatini	4	0	1	3	1	7	–6
Ethiopia	2	0	1	1	2	3	–1
Ivory Coast	1	0	0	1	0	9	–9
Kenya	5	0	1	4	2	16	–14
Lesotho	4	1	1	2	4	5	–1
Libya	2	0	0	2	2	13	–11
Madagascar	13	0	4	9	6	28	–22
Malawi	2	0	0	2	0	5	–5
Maldives	8	4	1	3	21	10	+11
Mali	2	0	0	2	0	5	–5
Mauritius	31	6	8	17	32	51	–19
Mozambique	4	0	1	3	2	6	–4
Namibia	6	0	3	3	4	12	–8
Nigeria	2	0	0	2	1	6	–5
Palestine	1	0	0	1	0	1	–1
Rwanda	2	0	0	2	0	10	–10
San Marino	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Sierra Leone	1	0	0	1	0	2	–2
South Africa	3	0	1	2	0	9	–9
South Sudan	2	0	0	2	1	3	–2
Sri Lanka	4	2	1	1	8	5	+3
Sudan	2	0	0	2	0	5	–5
Tanzania	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1
Tunisia	4	0	0	4	0	14	–14
Uganda	3	0	0	3	2	8	–6
Zambia	4	0	1	3	3	11	–8
Zimbabwe	7	1	0	6	3	22	–19
Total	154	20	30	103	119	332	–213

Non FIFA members

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Mayotte	3	1	0	2	3	5	–2
Réunion	16	2	1	13	9	33	–24
Total	19	3	1	15	12	38	–26

Honours

• Indian Ocean Island Games
  • Champions (1): 2011
  • Runners-up (1): 1979
  • Third Place (3): 1990, 1998, 2003

External links

• Seychelles at FIFA
• Seychelles at CAF
• Seychelles national football team picture