the feat of the Black Devils of Combani with U16s in the team

This is the magic of the Coupe de France. This Saturday, the Black Devils of Combani (R1) won on penalties (4-2) on the pitch of Crépy-en-Valois (R3) during the 7th round. But beyond the victory and the qualification, the feat achieved by the visitors is remarkable. Coming straight from Mayotte, they had to fly more than twelve hours to play their match. And that's not all! According to La 1ère, the club presented itself with seven absences due to administrative problems. Indeed, although the Mahorean league authorizes foreign players in an irregular situation to participate in local competitions, their travel to mainland France has been blocked by a refusal of the prefecture to issue passes. Coach Chaquir Ibrahim therefore had to call several young people from lower categories (U16, U17, U18) to complete the squad.

An immense joy

Relayed by RMC Sport, the team captain, Jolito, spoke after the match: “It was a complicated match, because we had a lot of young people who were not used to playing this kind of match . […] It's the mental side that's our strong point, it was the psychological side and it worked.” For the 8th round, the Black Devils will face USC Corte (National 3) on November 19, with the hope of qualifying for the 32nd finals, where the Ligue 1 clubs will compete at the end of December. The club also published a message on Facebook: “We are counting on you, Mr. Prefect of Mayotte, to enable our seven players who remained at home. Mayotte to join us.”