Football is the most popular sport in Mauritius.^[1] The national governing body is the Mauritius Football Association. Internationally, Mauritius is represented by Club M in senior competitions, and by the U-17 and U-20 teams in youth competitions. The top domestic football league in Mauritius is the Mauritian League, and the top knockout tournament is the Mauritian Cup.

History

Football in Mauritius has had a tumultuous history.^[1] The Mauritian League was founded in 1935, and the Mauritius Football Association (MFA) was founded in 1952, affiliated to FIFA in 1962 and to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 1963. The founding members of the association were FC Dodo, Faucon Flacq SC (now renamed Flacq SC), CSC, Hounds, Royal College of Curepipe, and Saint Joseph College, all of which were based out of Curepipe and, with the exception of Flacq SC, have since ceased to exist. Troubles have arisen for the MFA, ranging from perpetual financial shortages to constant changes of presidents, and it has been under fire from various quarters for failing to stem the decline of football in Mauritius. Although football continues to be the most popular sport in the country, the majority of domestic league matches attract very few spectators (sometimes less than a handful), earning the clubs and the MFA very little income and leaving the players without the motivation to showcase their skills.

The focus of the sport's popularity has almost completely shifted to the English Premier League, which is considered far more exciting due to the high quality of football on display and the presence of numerous world-famous stars. National and International television networks beam Premier League matches into the living rooms multiple times every week, adding to the erosion of interest in local football.^[2]

There are a lot of Liverpool and Manchester United fans in Mauritius.

The 1999 major restructuring of the MPL was regarded as the beginning of the decline in Mauritian football. Due to a riot on May 23, 1999, between Fire Brigade Sports Club (now renamed as Pamplemousses SC^[3]) and Scouts Club (renamed as Port Louis Sporting Club^[3]), which lasted for three days and killed seven people, the government imposed an 18-month ban on all footballing activities in the country, with only the national team permitted to play during this period.^[4] The restructure, which was an effort to de-ethnicize local clubs, required the "regionalization" of clubs, with teams now being formed on the basis of region instead of ethnicity or religion. Although the move achieved the desired results in terms of reduction in violent conflicts, it also removed the traditional rivalry among fans, resulting in loss of interest and support. In fact, many locals believe that the resurrection of Mauritian football lies in permitting the formation of clubs on the basis of ethnicity or religion.^[2]

On the international stage, the national team, known as Club M, has not had much success, only winning the Indian Ocean Games twice and qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations once in 1974. It has plummeted down the FIFA World Rankings in the past few years to the lowest it has ever been. The future looks bright though, as in 2006 four Regional Technical Centers (CTRs) were created to improve youth football in Mauritius, with hopes of revitalizing the national team. There is hope that Mauritian football can grow to new heights if the MPL continues to grow and new talent is found in the CTRs.

Mauritius national football team

The Mauritius national football team is the national football team of Mauritius. Club M won the Indian Ocean Island Games in 2003.

Mauritian League

The Mauritian League, otherwise known as the Barclays League, is the top league of Mauritian football. The MFA Second Division is the second highest level of Mauritian football.

League system

Notable Mauritian footballers

Born in Mauritius

Name	Position	Current club	National team
Kersley Appou	FW	Retired	Mauritius
Gurty Calambé	FW	Petite Rivière Noire SC	Mauritius
Brian Casquet	FW	TUS Zeppelinheim E.V.	None
Orwin Castel	GK	Langwarrin SC	Mauritius
Ned Charles	FW	Retired	Mauritius
Jimmy Cundasamy	MF	US Stade Tamponnaise	Mauritius
Chris Driver	MF	Endeavour Hills Fire SC	Mauritius
Mohammad Anwar Elahee	DF	Deceased	Mauritius
Cédric Florent	MF	Oakleigh Cannons FC	None
Caleb Francis	MF	Retired	None
Sewram Gobin	FW	AS Rivière du Rempart	Mauritius
Kervin Godon	MF	Saint-Denis FC	Mauritius
Jean-Marc Ithier	FW	Retired	Mauritius
Jonathan Justin	FW	Balma SC	Mauritius
Jerry Louis	MF	Retired	Mauritius
Jean-Paul de Marigny	DF	Retired, Melbourne Victory FC (Assistant coach)	Australia
Jacques-Désiré Périatambée	MF	Retired	Mauritius
Christopher Perle	FW	Retired	Mauritius
Fabrice Pithia	MF	Curepipe Starlight SC	Mauritius
Herbert Rawson	FW	Deceased	England
Andy Sophie	FW	AS Marsouins	Mauritius

Of Mauritian heritage

Name	Country of birth	Position	Club	Nationality
Jean-Sebastien Bax	France	MF	Retired	Mauritius
Thierry Boi	Australia	MF	Waverley Wanderers SC	Mauritius
Jonathan Bru	France	MF	U.D. Oliveirense	Mauritius
Kévin Bru	France	MF	Ipswich Town F.C.	Mauritius
Dylan Collignon	France	GK	Seraing United	Mauritius
Vikash Dhorasoo	France	MF	Retired	France
Tyrese Francois	Australia	MF	Fulham Academy	None
Gavin Heeroo	England	MF	Retired	Mauritius
Kabir Jeetoo	England	MF	Free Agent	Mauritius
Yoann Khodabuccus	France	DF	Retired	Mauritius
Patrick Kisnorbo	Australia	DF	Melbourne City FC	Australia
Jean-Christophe Lourde	France	DF	US Sainte-Marienne	Mauritius
Sébastien Monier	France	MF	Free Agent	None
Kalam Mooniaruck	England	FW	Retired	Mauritius
Arassen Ragaven	France	MF	Free Agent	Mauritius
Lindsay Rose	France	DF	Aris Thessaloniki	Mauritius
Wesley Saïd	France	FW	Stade Lavallois (on loan from Stade Rennais F.C.)	None
Kevin Sanasy	England	FW	Saltaire Rangers FC	None
Nikolai Topor-Stanley	Australia	MF	Western Sydney Wanderers	Australia

References