Women's football: Seychelles bids farewell to history-making Singaporean coach
Sport |Author: Sedrick Nicette Edited By: Betymie Bonnelame | February 19, 2023, Sunday @ 08:00| 3459 views
Angeline Chua from Singapore, whose contract has ended, was given a formal send-off last week. (Seychelles Nation)
The coach of Seychelles' national women's football team for the past two years, who historically brought the team to the FIFA world ranking, has bid farewell to the island nation.
Angeline Chua from Singapore, whose contract has ended, was given a formal send-off last week in a small ceremony at the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF Headquarters) in the presence of the high officials of the federation.
The executive committee member responsible for women's football, Shella Mohideen, said, "Chua is a stepping stone for future success."
Chua, a former Singapore international, took over the Seychelles women's team in 2021. She revitalised women's football in the country, putting together a team that was able to be competitive in the matches played since she took over.
Under her leadership, Seychelles had its first competitive win last year since 2015, by defeating the Maldives in February 2022. She finished her tenure with a record of two wins in eight official games.
When the side got its FIFA ranking for the first time in 2022, Chua said, "It's hard to describe. But the team is celebrating this achievement for sure!"
Seychelles entered the rankings despite a 6-2 loss to Singapore in a friendly match and is now ranked 165th in the world on the latest FIFA rankings released in December.
The island nation is the highest-ranked country in the Indian Ocean region, followed by Comoros which is ranked 82nd, Madagascar 183rd and Mauritius 187th.
For a team to be ranked on the FIFA list, it has to play a minimum of six international matches. The Seychelles women's national team played its sixth international match in Singapore.
"What we have to do now is to maintain the momentum that women's football in Seychelles now has, as we have come so far," said the chief executive of the SFF, Denis Rose.
No official announcement has been made on who will take over the helm of the women's national team as a coach.