FIFA code MRI Captain Jonathan Bru | Head coach Joe Tshupula Founded 1952 | |
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Sub-confederation COSAFA(Southern Africa) | ||
Mauritius national football team
The Mauritius national football team (French: Équipe de Maurice de football), nicknamed Club M and Les Dodos (The Dodos), is the national team of Mauritius. They are overseen by the Mauritius Football Association and are members of FIFA, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA). The head coach is Joe Tshupula.
Contents
- Mauritius national football team
- Mauritius national football team celebrates after qualifying for the final of the 2011 ioig
- Early years
- 1960s1990s
- The new millennium to present day
- Awards and records
- International matches record
- Media coverage
- Uniforms
- Supporters groups
- Stadia
- Schedule
- Current squad
- Recent callups
- References
Their most significant achievements are qualification for the 1974 African Cup of Nations, and winning the Indian Ocean Island Games football tournament in 1985 and 2003. They have also been a finalist in this competition in 1990 and 2011.
Mauritius national football team celebrates after qualifying for the final of the 2011 ioig
Early years
Mauritius played its first competitive international game in 1947 against Réunion, which they won 2–1. For the next 20 years, they would only play Réunion and Madagascar (probably due to the close proximity of the three islands to each other) in friendlies and the Indian Ocean Games Triangulaire, which existed from 1947–1963. Mauritius won the competition 10 times over that time period, were runners-up twice, and came in third once.
1960s–1990s
Starting in 1967, Mauritius began competing against other countries, playing friendlies and entering in such competitions as the Africa Cup of Nations and FIFA World Cup qualification, though they haven't found much success. While they have never qualified for the World Cup finals, they have qualified once for the Africa Cup of Nations, in 1974. However, they were eliminated in the group stages. Mauritius did manage to win the resurrected Indian Ocean Games in 1985. In 1999, after deadly riots caused by supporters of Scouts Club (renamed as Port Louis Sporting Club) angry about a controversial penalty awarded to Fire Brigade Sports Club (now renamed as Pamplemousses SC) in the championship deciding game, which gave Fire Brigade a 1–0 win, all domestic football was suspended for 18 months, and only the national team was allowed to play. This is regarded as the point at which Mauritian football, both on the domestic and international stage, started on a downward slope.
The new millennium to present day
Throughout the new millennium, the national team's performances progressively declined. From a high of 116 in the FIFA World Rankings in 2000, they tumbled down to an all-time low of 195 in the Summer of 2011. The best result since the 1974 CAN Championships has been reaching the quarterfinals of the 2004 COSAFA Cup, beating South Africa 2–0 in January 2004. Mauritius eventually lost out 3–1 to the tournament's favourites Zambia. Mauritius has also cycled through many head coaches, especially since the new millennium, but none have had true success. Mauritius did win its second IOG championship in the 2003 edition, held in Mauritius, under head coach Akbar Patel. Besides that, Mauritius has lost a majority of its matches. In the past decade, they have suffered a 7–0 defeat, their biggest margin of losing, three times. However, there have been signs of improvement recently. The MFA has been trying hard to make Mauritius more competitive on the international stage, and one of their approaches is the professionalization of football practices in Mauritius, which includes creating a truly professional domestic league and a solid national team training regiment. On top of this, players are paid for when they practice and play for the national team. These measures were taken in hopes of Mauritius becoming more competitive in international competitions. In August 2011 Club M competed in the 2011 IOIG football tournament, making a dream run to the final. Although they lost out on penalties to hosts Seychelles in the final, this tournament proved to show that Mauritian football is indeed on the rise.
Awards and records
Indian Ocean Games Triangulaire (10) :
Indian Ocean Games (2) :
International matches record
Media coverage
For most home games of significant importance, the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation provides televised coverage.
Uniforms
Mauritius had relied on local clothing manufacturers to provide their uniforms before switching to Adidas in 2009. For home matches, Mauritius has white uniforms with red trim, while for road matches, the colors are switched. Emblazoned on the front is the MFA badge on the left and the Mauritian flag on the right.
Supporters' groups
On May 30, 2011, the official fan club of Club M, Kop Moris, was launched. The objective of this club is to build up excitement for Mauritius' games, fill up the stands as much as possible, and create a festive and family-friendly atmosphere. This fan club is officially sanctioned by the MFA.
Stadia
Mauritius plays the majority of their games at Stade George V (cap. 6,200). Games at Stade Anjalay (cap. 18,000) are reserved for higher profile matches.
Schedule
Win Draw Loss
Current squad
Match Date(s): 3 Sep 2016
Opponent(s): Mozambique
Competition: 2017 AFCON qual.
Caps and goals correct as of: 14 April 2015
On 1 September 2015, Alain Happe named his 19-man squad for the African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Mozambique
Recent callups
The following players are not currently on the national team, but have been called up within the last twelve months.
Notes: