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.
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.
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
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
2025
2026
Coaching staff Position Name Head coachN/A Assistant Coaches Ernest Vivien Lesley Guichard Goalkeeping Coach Frantz Boulle Fitness Coach James Fontaine Match Analyst Alexis Lafleur Doctors Dr. Daniel François Dr. Justine Valmont Physiotherapists Michael Payet Jules Hervé Richard Lemoine Thomas Hoareau Team Coordinator Gavin Jeanne Technical Director Vivian Bothe
Coaching history 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 (2023–2026)
Players Current squad The following players were selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group F matches against Gabon and Kenya on 3 and 9 September 2025.
Caps and goals correct as of 25 March 2025, after the match against Burundi.
Player records
Players in bold are still active with Seychelles.
Most appearances
RankNameCapsGoalsCareer1Benoit Marie6402013–present2Gervais Waye-Hive5162012–present3Colin Esther4522008–20224Eric Nelson Sopha4401996–20125Jones Joubert4302006–2019Warren Mellie4332017–present7Achille Henriette3962006–20168Brandon Labrosse3542017–present93312002–2014Philip Zialor33141998–2009
Top goalscorers
RankNameGoalsCapsRatioCareer1Philip Zialor1433 1998–20092620 1996–2011Achille Henriette639 2006–2016Gervais Waye-Hive651 2012–present5Perry Monnaie417 2018–2020427 2000–2011Brandon Labrosse435 2019–present8Ralph Jean-Louis310 1993–2000Lorenzo Hoareau312 2021–present312 2002–2011317 2016–2022Yelvanny Rose318 2002–2007Nelson Laurence325 2008–2018Godfrey Denis Armel329 1998–2008Warren Mellie3432017–present
Competition records
FIFA World Cup FIFA World CupQualificationYearRoundPosition*1930 to 1974Part of Part of 1978 to 1986Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member 1990 to 1998Did not enterDid not enter 2002Did not qualify201114 2006201115 20106006417 2014200207 2018200203 20222002010 2026100010253 2030To be determinedTo be determined 2034Total–––––––260224899
Africa Cup of Nations Africa Cup of Nations recordAfrica Cup of Nations Qualification recordYearRoundPosition* 1957 to 1976Part of Part of 1978 to 1986Not affiliated to CAFNot affiliated to CAF 1988Did not enterDid not enter 1990Did not qualify210113 1992WithdrewWithdrew 1994Did not enterDid not enter 1996WithdrewWithdrew 1998Did not qualify201112 2000Did not enterDid not enter 2002 2004Did not qualify6204410 2006201115 20086114314 20106006417 2012Did not enterDid not enter 2013Did not qualify200207 2015WithdrewWithdrew 2017Did not qualify6114511 20196015325 2021200213 2023201113 2025ExcludedExcluded 2027Did not qualify201112 2029To be determinedTo be determinedTotal–0/35––––––42563124100
Indian Ocean Island Games Indian Ocean Island Games recordYearRoundPosition* 1979Runners-up2nd4112116 1985Group stage6th200214 1990Third place3rd310239 1993Fourth place4th4004312 1998Third place3rd4202910 2003Third place3rd412136 2007Group stage5th210124 2011Champions1st5320104 2015Group stage5th310243 2019Fourth place4th402228 2023Group Stage6th200202Total1 Title11/1136107204868
CECAFA Cup
COSAFA Cup
YearCOSAFA CupRoundResultMWDLGFGA2000Excluded20012002Did not enter200320042005Round 111th1001032006Round 17th2011132007Round 113th200207 2008Group stage11th311182 2009Group stage13th300326 2013Group stage13th200228 2015Group stage13th301202 2016Group stage14th3003010 2017Group stage14th3003110 2018Group stage12th302123 2019Group stage13th301206 2021Did not enter 2022Group Stage13th300316 2023Group Stage12th300329TotalGroup stage11/193416271975
Head-to-head record
FIFA members OpponentPldWDLGFGAGD 2 0 0 2 0 6 –6 2 0 0 2 2 6 –4 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 3 –3 2 0 0 2 3 7 –4 7 0 0 7 3 22 –19 9 3 2 4 12 16 –4 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 2 0 7 –7 3 1 0 2 1 2 –1 4 0 1 3 1 7 –6 2 0 1 1 2 3 –1 2 0 0 2 0 7 –7 2 0 0 2 1 12 –11 2 0 0 2 0 16 –16 7 0 1 6 2 26 –24 8 1 3 4 7 10 –3 2 0 0 2 2 13 –11 13 0 4 9 6 28 –22 2 0 0 2 0 5 –5 8 4 1 3 21 10 +11 2 0 0 2 0 5 –5 31 6 8 17 32 51 –19 4 0 1 3 2 6 –4 7 0 3 4 5 15 –10 2 0 0 2 1 6 –5 1 0 0 1 0 1 –1 2 0 0 2 0 10 –10 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 –2 3 0 1 2 0 9 –9 2 0 0 2 1 3 –2 6 2 1 3 8 10 –2 2 0 0 2 0 5 –5 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4 0 0 4 0 14 –14 3 0 0 3 2 8 –6 4 0 1 3 3 11 –8 7 1 0 6 3 22 –19 Total 170 20 32 117 126 389 –263
Non FIFA members OpponentPldWDLGFGAGD 3 1 0 2 3 5 –2 16 2 1 13 9 33 –24 Total 19 3 1 15 12 38 –26
Honours Regional Indian Ocean Island Games Gold medal (1): 2011 Silver medal (1): 1979 Bronze medal (3): 1990, 1998, 2003
Friendly Four Nations Football Tournament (1): 2021
References
External links Seychelles at FIFA Seychelles at CAF