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LOCAL CLUBS REFUSE TO RELEASE PLAYERS FOR SEYCHELLES’ COACH, GAVIN JEANNE

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

As the clock ticks down to the 4.30pm local time of next week Saturday for the Seychelles versus Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, coach of Seychelles, Gavin Jeanne is facing a major headache as local clubs are refusing to release players for training sessions.

Online publication, www.sportsvillagesquare.com gathered from local sources in Victoria, Seychelles that the coach has made personal public appeals to the clubs.

He told a local newspaper of his ordeal as the match scheduled to hold at Stad Linite draws nearer.

He explained that some clubs are reluctant to release their players for training, stating the fear of injuries as their main reason, while some players are faking injuries just to skip training.

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“The feeling I get is that some clubs think we are competing against them,” noted coach Jeanne.

With genuine injury problems, coach Jeanne will be without Karl Hall, Warren Mellie, Rashim Padayachy and possibly Colin Bibi.

To fill in the gaps Australia-based Alexander Hoareau and Carl Hopprich who plays in Germany have been called in.

Coach Jeanne also noted that other than clubs, some selected players have no interests whatsoever in playing for the country.

To deal with the situation, he is leaving the place for players who really want to represent the country and some of them come from the lower divisions.

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“The way things are at the moment, it does not matter which division the players are from, as long as they have the abilities and are willing to play with commitment and a sense of patriotism,” coach Jeanne added.

Another issue affecting the national team is breach of team protocol by several players and coach Jeanne said he is very strict about it and players will be left out despite their skills and abilities.

“I have to leave them outside of the team as I do not tolerate such behaviour which will affect not only the team, but also my image as a coach,” he further explained.

The pre-selection has been training on Sundays and Mondays for the past two weeks and this is due to the ongoing domestic competitions.

Another constraint affecting the national selection is release from work, especially for players from the inner islands.

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Coach Jeanne noted that the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) will be paying their trip on a daily basis so they can come down to Mahé for training.

This, he said, will also affect the training camp as those players will attend only one training session per day, instead of two as planned, due to their work commitment.

As friendly matches, coach Jeanne said they have requested a match with the Mahé-based foreign players.

This, he said, is not guaranteed as he is not sure whether the local clubs will allow their players to take part.

A situation which he said is very discouraging, especially prior to a match with a selection in the calibre of Nigeria.

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Coach Jeanne is asking the management of local clubs to change their mindset in regards to the national team who represent the whole country, not just a group of people.

“If the national team perform well, it is an achievement for the country and the sport, not for me,” he explained.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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