Sychelles players in training ahead of playing Harambee Stars.

Harambee Stars have been getting rewarded with bonuses for playing for the national team but their next opponents Seychelles have no such luxuries and here is why.

While Harambee Stars players earned more than Ksh5 million for their impressive run at CHAN 2024, and will pocket more from the ongoing World Cup qualifiers, their next opponents will not.

‎Benni McCarthy’s team will face Seychelles in a World Cup qualifier at Kasarani Stadium on Tuesday looking to banish memories of Friday when they were outplayed by The Gambia to lose 3-1.

‎Seychelles, however, represent a less tedious task, on paper, as they have been easy pickings in Group F where they have lost all their seven matches by three or more goals.

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‎But it is not hard to understand why Seychelles have been the whipping boys of the group as they are perhaps one of the teams in the world whose national team players do not earn anything for representing their country internationally.

‎This is because the team is made up of amateurs who only train at weekends after work as there is no professional league in the country.

‎They therefore play football as a pastime given the team is made up of players who work in various sectors in the island nation such as tourism industries, health ministry, agriculture, construction and teaching.

“All the players first work, then go to play football. They have to work to earn money because football is just kind of a pass time there. Besides, as we have the league, the players have to play the competitive league,” former Seychelles coach Neville Vivian Both said in a past interview with The Daily Star.

‎”If you are an amateur footballer [in Seychelles], there is no money for you. But if you play well and win, the sponsors can give you 500 rupees which is worth 30 US dollars and it comes from the company.”

It therefore presents a tricky situation for the country when it comes to winning matches as the players lack the quality and knowhow and when they come up against pros from various countries, it is a struggle.

Assembling a team for national duty has previously been an uphill task as the players had to seek permission from work before joining national team camp for training.