The Seychelles U21 team

FORMER African champion Raymond D'Souza vowed to take hockey out of its slumber state when he was elected chairperson of the Seychelles Hockey Federation (SHF) in 2003.

A year later, the federation has accomplished a great deal. A number of junior and senior one-day outdoor and indoor tournaments were organised and a Reunion club – l'Union Sportive – took part in an international competition here won by local side Beau Vallon.

Satisfied with how things went along last year, especially that emphasis was on developing young players to get them to love the game, the federation has decided to go a step further in 2004 by participating in the Mombassa Open Tournament from January 10 to 15.

The 17-member delegation for the tournament leaves the country  Thursday January 8 for Mombassa, Kenya, to rub shoulders with their opponents.

The 14 players chosen for the trip are Danny D'Souza (captain), Evrell Barra (vice-captain), Daniel Jeannevol, Adam Richards, Andrew Charles, Jonathan Richards, Michael Léon, Franky Naiken, Jerry Furneau, Benjamin Doway, Jan Mohamed, Michel Japhet, Ashley Mussard and Alex Freminot.

The team's head coach is Brian Camille who is assisted by George Sicobo, while chairman Raymond D'Souza is the head of delegation.

The competition, reserved for under 21-year-olds, is seen as a stepping stone for the Seychelles team with players aged between 15 and 18 years old.

Chairman D'Souza, gold medallist with the Kenyan national team at the Fourth All-Africa Games in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1987, and at the African Junior Championship in Zimbabwe in 1980, has said that he expects the team to give a good performance in Mombassa.

"The team have trained very well and the players have learned new techniques. They have played together against senior teams in the seven-a-side tournament and they should be ready to give it their best shot in Mombassa," said D'Souza, who has represented Kenya for 15 years in international competitions.

The former African champion has added that the focus is on sending a team to the Ninth All-Africa Games in 2007.

"Our aim is to get a good team for the next All-Africa Games. The current pool of young players have the ability to develop into very good hockey players and hopefully they will gel so that we will have a good team in the coming years," said Kenya-born D'Souza, holder of a diploma in coaching.

It is to note that the last time a Seychelles national side took part in an international competition – the African Championship – was in 1993.

G. G.