SUKETU Patel and Eddie Maillet leave the country  Monday January 19 for Tunis, Tunisia, for different purposes.

Maillet will be in Tunis to take charge of matches during the 16-team final of the African Nations' Cup which begins on Saturday January 24 with hosts Tunisia clashing with Rwanda in a group A match at the 7th November Rades Stadium.

Referee Maillet is the first Seychellois official chosen by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) to officiate at the biennial competition which will end on February 14 with the final which will also be played at the 7th November Rades Stadium.

Maillet, who refereed the second leg of the 2003 African Champions' League final between Egypt's Ismaïli and Nigeria's Enyimba, has said that he is ready for the competition.

"I've prepared myself well for the tournament and I'm confident in my abilities. The Africa Nations' Cup is a high level competition with quality players, some of whom I know very well for having refereed matches they were involved in. I would like to referee the highest number of matches possible at the competition, but all will depend on the Cooper's test which all referees will take upon arriving in Tunis," said 36-year-old Maillet.

The Cooper's test includes 50m and 200m sprints (both distances twice) and a 12-minute endurance run during which referees have to cover a minimum 2,700 metres (6 laps and three quarters) of a 400m track.

For Suketu Patel, he will be looking to kill two birds with one stone in Tunis.

The Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) chairman will represent the local football body at the two-day (January 21 and 22) Caf congress and then run for election as Zone South representative.

Patel, who also serves on the finance committee of Caf, will fight with Thabo Makakole (Lesotho), Evaristro Kasunga (Zambia) and Leo Mugabe (Zimbabwe) for the Southern Africa seat on Caf's executive committee.

It is to note that incumbent Zone South member Ismaïl Bhamjee of Botswana is a candidate for the post of Caf president, a post being held by Cameroonian Issa Hayatou, who is running for re-election.

G. G.