Of all international breaks, September is the odd one. Just when the European season is swinging onto life, it’s ugly face shows up.
For football lovers in Islandic nation, Seychelles, however, it’s a rare shot at grade A game.
The Pirates are scheduled to host Nigeria’s Super Eagles in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Saturday.
While Gernot Rohr’s team is a popular brand across the continent, the East African’s are the opposite – utter minows.
Ahead of the epic showdown in Victoria, here are five shocking facts about the Islanders.
1 – Never played in any major tournament
Be it AFCON, World Cup or the Olympic games, the Pirates have never qualified for a major competition. The best they have achieved is a group stage of COSAFA – the East African regional tourney.
2 – Part-time footballers
The majority of Gavin Jeanne’s squad are only moonlighting as football players. The rest of the time, they are out earning a regular living like everyone else. And they often cannot get time off to represent their country. Their reliable defender, Bertrand Esther, is a driver. Winger Colin Bibi is a messenger at Mahe Shipping.
3 – Ighalo richer than the entire squad
The squad earns a combined average of around 9000 rupees a month. That is about $635 per month. By comparison, Nigeria forward Odion Ighalo’s $245 000 a week at Chanching Yatai in China means he could probably pay the entire Seychelles team for their time this weekend.
4 – Miss training for work
Jeanne has had a tough time preparing for the Nigeria clash as some of his players won’t be released from work. “We are trying to prepare as much as we can. It has been a little bit difficult for us because our players need to go to work before they come for training,” he says. “The players did not get released from work. Some of them are from the other islands. We train in the morning, they go to work and come back in the afternoon.”
5 – Rated fourth worst African team
Seychelles is ranked 188th on the FIFA Rankings. That’s almost a century and a half behind the Super Eagles. Only three African countries have worst rating; Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti.
