Mauritius national football team
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| Nickname(s) | Club M, Les Dodos | ||
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| Association | Mauritius Football Association | ||
| Sub-confederation | COSAFA (Southern Africa) |
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| Confederation | CAF (Africa) | ||
| Head coach | Akbar Patel[1] | ||
| Home stadium | Stade George V | ||
| FIFA code | MRI | ||
| FIFA ranking | 189 | ||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 116 (August 2000) | ||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 203 (November 2012) | ||
| Elo ranking | 181 | ||
| Highest Elo ranking | 46 (November 1968) | ||
| Lowest Elo ranking | 187 (6 August 2011) | ||
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| First international | |||
(Madagascar; Date Unknown, 1947) |
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| Biggest win | |||
(Madagascar; Date unknown, 1950) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||
(Cairo, Egypt; June 8, 2003) (Witbank, South Africa; July 19, 2008) (Dakar, Senegal; October 9, 2010) |
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| African Nations Cup | |||
| Appearances | 1 (First in 1974) | ||
| Best result | Round 1, 1974 | ||
The Mauritius national football team, nicknamed Club M, is the national team of Mauritius and is controlled by the Mauritius Football Association.
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History [edit]
Early years [edit]
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 [edit]
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[2]) angry about a controversial penalty awarded to Fire Brigade Sports Club (now renamed as Pamplemousses SC[2]) 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 in which Mauritian football, both on the domestic and international stage, started on a downward slope.
The new millennium to present day [edit]
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 [edit]
Indian Ocean Games Triangulaire (10) :
Indian Ocean Games (2) :
World Cup record [edit]
- 1930 to 1970 - Did not enter
- 1974 - Did not qualify
- 1978 to 1982 - Did not enter
- 1986 - Did not qualify
- 1990 - Entry rejected due to debts to FIFA
- 1994 - Did not enter
- 1998 to 2010 - Did not qualify
- 2014 - Withdrew
African Nations Cup record [edit]
- 1957 to 1965 - Did not enter
- 1968 to 1972 - Did not qualify
- 1974 - Round 1
- 1976 to 1986 - Did not qualify
- 1988 - Withdrew
- 1990 to 2012 - Did not qualify
- 2013 - Did not enter
COSAFA Senior Challenge Cup record [edit]
- 1997 to 1999 - Did not enter
- 2000 - First round knockout
- 2001 - Quarterfinals
- 2002 to 2003 - First round knockout
- 2004 - Quarterfinals
- 2005 - Group A final
- 2006 - Group A 3rd place
- 2007 - Group B final
- 2008 - Group A 4th place
- 2009 - Group A 3rd place
- 2010 - Cancelled
International matches record [edit]
- Last update: 15 December 2012
Comoros 0 - 0
Mauritius
| Opponent | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | GF | GA | GD | Last Played | Best Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -3 | April 29, 2006 | Angola (Angola; February 28, 1999) |
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| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | June 10, 1990 | Botswana (Botswana; June 10, 1990) |
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| 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 16 | -15 | September 3, 2011 | Mauritius (Mauritius; September 4, 2010) |
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| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | June 22, 2008 | Mauritius (Mauritius; June 15, 2008) |
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| 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 1 | +21 | December 15, 2012 | Mauritius (Mauritius; September 4, 2003) |
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| 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | June 3, 2001 | Congo (Congo; June 3, 2001) |
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| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -4 | June 5, 2011 | Mauritius (Mauritius; June 5, 2011) |
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| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | March 21, 2007 | Mauritius (Mauritius; March 21, 2007) |
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| 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 18 | -16 | October 2, 2009 | Mauritius (Mauritius; March 29, 2003) |
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| 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | -2 | April 24, 1983 | Mauritius (Mauritius; April 24, 1983) |
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| 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | -8 | June 20, 1999 | Mauritius (Réunion; June 20, 1999) |
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| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | March 5, 1974 | Guinea (Egypt; March 5, 1974) |
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| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | October 12, 1999 | Hong Kong (Hong Kong; October 12, 1999) |
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| 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | -4 | July 12, 1981 | Mauritius (Mauritius; July 18, 1971) Mauritius (Mauritius; February 17, 1973) |
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| 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 10 | +5 | October 21, 2009 | Mauritius (Mauritius; September 30, 1973) |
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| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | -6 | June 16, 2001 | Mauritius (Mauritius; June 16, 2001) |
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| 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 74 | 53 | +21 | July 23, 2008 | Mauritius (Réunion; July 31, 1952) |
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| 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 | -8 | June 21, 1997 | Mauritius (Mauritius; January 28, 1977) |
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| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | August 4, 2011 | Maldives (Seychelles; August 4, 2011) |
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| 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | August 11, 2011 | Mayotte (Seychelles; August 11, 2011) |
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| 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | -8 | April 30, 2006 | Mauritius (Mauritius; September 16, 1984) Mauritius (Lesotho; April 30, 2006) |
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| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | April 8, 2001 | Namibia (Namibia; June 7, 1990) Mauritius (Mauritius; April 8, 2001) |
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| 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 102 | 40 | +62 | September 15, 2012 | Mauritius (Madagascar; 1950) |
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| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | November 26, 1967 | Rhodesia (Rhodesia; November 25, 1967) Rhodesia (Rhodesia; November 26, 1967) |
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| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | -9 | October 9, 2011 | Senegal (Mauritius; October 9, 2011) |
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| 21 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 35 | 27 | +8 | August 13, 2011 | Seychelles (Mauritius; August 28, 1993) |
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| 12 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 19 | -14 | May 30, 2009 | Mauritius (Mauritius; January 10, 2004) |
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| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -4 | June 2, 2007 | Mauritius (Mauritius; March 25, 2007) |
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| 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 22 | -9 | September 6, 2008 | Mauritius (Mauritius; September 16, 1979) |
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| 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | June 16, 2007 | Mauritius (Mauritius; September 3, 2006) |
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| 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 13 | -8 | November 16, 2003 | Mauritius (Mauritius; November 16, 2003) |
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| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | -9 | June 16, 1996 | Zaire (Zaire; June 16, 1996) |
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| 11 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 28 | -22 | July 31, 2004 | Zambia (Mauritius; November 17, 1978) Mauritius (Mauritius; February 23, 1997) |
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| 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 11 | -8 | October 17, 2009 | Mauritius (Mauritius; August 29, 1982) |
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| Total | 231 | 69 | 52 | 110 | 326 | 379 | -53 | December 15, 2012 | Mauritius (Madagascar; 1950) |
Team image [edit]
Media coverage [edit]
For most home games of significant importance, the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation provides televised coverage.
Uniforms [edit]
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 [edit]
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.[3]
Stadia [edit]
Mauritius plays the majority of their games at Stade George V (cap. 6,200). Games at Stade Anjalay (cap. 15,000) are reserved for higher profile matches.
Schedule [edit]
Win Draw Loss
Recent results [edit]
| Friendly September 15, 2012 | Mauritius |
1 – 1 | Curepipe, Mauritius | |||
| 15:30 UTC+4 | Estazie |
(Report) | Stadium: Stade George V Referee: D. Hurbangs |
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| 2014 CHAN qual. December 1, 2012 | Mauritius |
2 – 0 | Curepipe, Mauritius | |||
| 15:00 UTC+4 | Calambé Pithia |
(Report) | Stadium: Stade George V |
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| 2014 CHAN qual. December 15, 2012 | Comoros |
0 – 0 | Mitsamiouli, Comoros | |||
| 16:00 UTC+4 | (Report) | Stadium: Stade Said Mohamed Cheikh |
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Upcoming fixtures [edit]
| 2014 CHAN qual. 22 June 2013 | Mauritius |
v | Curepipe, Mauritius | |||
| Stadium: Stade George V |
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| 2014 CHAN qual. 5 July 2013 | Zimbabwe |
v | Harare, Zimbabwe | |||
| Stadium: National Sports Stadium |
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| 2013 COSAFA Cup. 6 July 2013 | Tanzania |
v | Lusaka, Zambia | |||
| 14:30 | Stadium: Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka |
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| 2013 COSAFA Cup. 8 July 2013 | Mauritius |
v | Lusaka, Zambia | |||
| 14:30 | Stadium: Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka |
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| 2013 COSAFA Cup. 10 July 2013 | Mauritius |
v | Lusaka, Zambia | |||
| 15:00 | Stadium: Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka |
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Players [edit]
Current squad [edit]
The following 18 players were named to the Mauritian squad by head coach Akbar Patel for the 2014 African Nations Championship qualification matches against Comoros on December 1, 2012 and December 15, 2012.
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Recent callups [edit]
The following players are not currently on the national team, but have been called up within the last twelve months: Updated December 13, 2012
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Staff [edit]
Current staff [edit]
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Akbar Patel | Head coach |
| Désiré l’Enclume | Assistant coach |
| Oozaïr Jannoo | Team manager |
| Iswar Bulkah | Physiotherapist |
| Samir Sobha | Head of delegation |
Managerial history [edit]
| Dates | Name |
|---|---|
| 1957-59 | |
| 1959-63 | |
| 1963-64 | |
| 1970-88 | |
| 1976-88 | |
| 1993 | |
| 1994-96 | |
| 1997 | |
| 1998 | |
| 1998–02 | |
| 2002-03 | |
| 2003 | |
| 2003-05 | |
| 2006 | |
| 2006 | |
| 2007 | |
| 2007-08 | |
| 2008-09 | |
| 2009- |
Player records [edit]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
External links [edit]
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