Mauritius national football team

Mauritius
Nickname(s) Club M, Les Dodos
Association Mauritius Football Association
Sub-confederation COSAFA
(Southern Africa)
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Head coach Didier Six
Home stadium Stade George V
FIFA code MRI
FIFA ranking 181 Increase 9 (9 April 2015)
Highest FIFA ranking 116 (August 2000)
Lowest FIFA ranking 203 (November 2012)
Elo ranking 187
Highest Elo ranking 46 (November 1968)
Lowest Elo ranking 187 (6 August 2011)
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Mauritius 2–1 Réunion 
(Madagascar; Date Unknown, 1947)
Biggest win
 Mauritius 15–2 Réunion 
(Madagascar; Date unknown, 1950)
Biggest defeat
 Egypt 7–0 Mauritius Mauritius
(Cairo, Egypt; June 8, 2003)
 Seychelles 7–0 Mauritius Mauritius
(Witbank, South Africa; July 19, 2008)
 Senegal 7–0 Mauritius Mauritius
(Dakar, Senegal; October 9, 2010)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances 1 (First in 1974)
Best result Round 1: 1974

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). As of 2015 the head coach is Didier Six.

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.

History

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[1]) angry about a controversial penalty awarded to Fire Brigade Sports Club (now renamed as Pamplemousses SC[1]) 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) :

World Cup record

African Nations Cup record

COSAFA Senior Challenge Cup record

  • 1997 to 1999Did not enter
  • 2000First round knockout
  • 2001Quarter-finals
  • 2002 to 2003 - First round knockout
  • 2004Quarter-finals
  • 2005Group A final
  • 2006Group A 3rd place
  • 2007Group B final
  • 2008Group A 4th place
  • 2009Group A 3rd place
  • 2010Cancelled
  • 2013Group A 2nd place

African Nations Championship record

  • 2009Withdrew
  • 2011Did not enter
  • 2014Did not qualify

International matches record

Team image

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.[2]

Stadia

Stade George V

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

Recent results




Upcoming fixtures



Players

Current squad

Match Date(s): 25 March 2015, 28 March 2015
Opponent(s): Burundi, Togo
Competition: Friendlies

Caps and goals correct as of: 14 April 2015

On 20 March 2015, Didier Six named his 26-man squad for the two friendly matches.[3]

# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
16 GK Christopher Casernes N/A 1 0 Mauritius Cercle de Joachim
GK Dylan Collignon July 8, 1992 0 0 Belgium Seraing United
1 GK Kevin Jean-Louis June 27, 1989 1 0 Mauritius Pamplemousses
7 DF Christopher Bazerque March 31, 1987 31 0 Mauritius Petite Rivière Noire
15 DF Brendon Citorah N/A 1 0 Mauritius Cercle de Joachim
DF Jean-Denis Dookhee April 30, 1987 6 0 Mauritius Cercle de Joachim
3 DF Marco Dorza October 8, 1988 1 0 Mauritius Port-Louis 2000
DF Jean-Christophe Lourde March 8, 1988 0 0 Réunion Sainte-Marienne
DF Francis Rasolofonirina N/A 0 0 Mauritius Petite Rivière Noire
5 DF Bruno Ravina March 24, 1984 30 1 Mauritius Port-Louis 2000
2 DF Yash Veeranah March 23, 1985 22 0 Mauritius Curepipe Starlight
4 DF Emmanuel Vincent N/A 1 0 Mauritius Port-Louis 2000
6 MF Jonathan Bru(captain) May 2, 1985 13 2 Portugal Oliveirense
12 MF Percy Buckland August 29, 1987 11 0 Mauritius Cercle de Joachim
MF Menzy Coco December 22, 1989 10 0 Mauritius Curepipe Starlight
18 MF Nick Curpanen N/A 2 0 Mauritius Pamplemousses
8 MF Yannick Dig-Dig N/A 1 0 Mauritius Cercle de Joachim
17 MF Fabien Pithia May 7, 1987 23 0 Mauritius Curepipe Starlight
MF Fabrice Pithia May 7, 1987 35 5 Mauritius Curepipe Starlight
10 MF Christopher l’Enclume March 2, 1991 6 0 Mauritius Cercle de Joachim
14 FW Gurty Calambé May 14, 1990 16 4 Mauritius Petite Rivière Noire
FW Jonathan Ernest September 14, 1986 2 0 Mauritius Port-Louis 2000
13 FW Jonathan Justin February 27, 1991 2 0 France Balma
9 FW Ashley Nazira N/A 2 0 Mauritius Entente Boulet Rouge
11 FW Andy Sophie June 26, 1987 23 4 Réunion Marsouins

Recent callups

The following players are not currently on the national team, but have been called up within the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Jean-Francois Ammomoothoo N/A 0 0 Mauritius Port-Louis 2000 v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014 (preselection)
GK Aboobakar Augustin September 28, 1983 11 0 Mauritius Cercle de Joachim v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014
GK Kersley Leopold N/A 0 0 Mauritius Bolton City Youth Club v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014 (preselection)
DF Joye Estazie August 10, 1984 17 1 Mauritius Vacoas-Phoenix v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014 (preselection)
DF Cédric Permal December 8, 1991 9 0 Mauritius Vacoas-Phoenix v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014
DF Walter St. Martin N/A 1 0 Mauritius Cercle de Joachim v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014
DF Jean-Jacques Tare N/A 0 0 Mauritius Petite Rivière Noire v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014 (preselection)
MF Kerlson Agathe N/A 0 0 Mauritius Pamplemousses v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014
MF Colin Bell RET February 17, 1979 26 0 Mauritius Pamplemousses v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014
MF Kévin Bru INJ December 12, 1988 2 0 England Ipswich Town v.  Burundi, March 25, 2015
MF Guiyano Chiffone February 18, 1988 8 0 Mauritius Cercle de Joachim v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014 (preselection)
MF Jimmy Cundasamy July 14, 1977 66 2 Réunion Le Tampon v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014
MF Luther Rose March 22, 1989 1 0 Mauritius Port-Louis 2000 v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014 (preselection)
MF Guillaume Sockalingum April 12, 1983 12 0 Mauritius Pamplemousses v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014
MF Stéphane Pierre October 12, 1981 9 3 Mauritius Petite Rivière Noire v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014
FW Kersley Appou April 24, 1970 26 10 Mauritius Pamplemousses v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014
FW Stéphan Nabab N/A 3 0 Mauritius Curepipe Starlight v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014 (preselection)
FW Andy Patate June 18, 1989 5 0 Mauritius Petite Rivière Noire v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014 (preselection)
FW Andrisoa Rijamana N/A 0 0 Mauritius Vacoas-Phoenix v.  Mauritania, April 12, 2014 (preselection)

Notes:

Staff

Current staff

Position Name
Head coach France Didier Six
Assistant coach France Alain Happe
Assistant coach Mauritius Akbar Patel
Assistant coach Mauritius Désire L’enclume
Team manager TBA
Physiotherapist TBA
Head of Delegation TBA

Managerial history

Dates Name
1957-59 England Harry Brophy
1959-63 Mauritius Joseph Le Roy
1963-64 Scotland Danny McLennan
1970-88 Mauritius Mohammad Anwar Elahee
1976-88 Germany Helmut Kosmehl
1993 Germany Rudi Gutendorf
1994-96 Mauritius Mohammad Anwar Elahee
1997 Germany Rudi Gutendorf
1998 Mauritius Ashok Chundunsing
1998–02 Mauritius Rajen Dorasami - Mauritius France L'Aiguille
2002-03 France Patrick Parizon
2003 Mauritius Akbar Patel
2003-05 Mauritius Elvis Antoine - Mauritius Rajesh Gunesh
2006 Mauritius Sarjoo Gowreesunkur
2006 Mauritius Rajen Dorasami - Mauritius France L'Aiguille
2007 Mauritius Akbar Patel
2007-08 Mauritius Ashok Chundunsing
2008-09 Mauritius Benjamin Théodore
2009-14 Mauritius Akbar Patel
2015- France Didier Six

Player records

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Mauritius 2000/01
  2. "Kop Moris". Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  3. "FOOTBALL : Le Club M à l'épreuve du Burundi et du Togo" [FOOTBALL: Club M the test of Burundi and Togo] (in French). lemauricien.com. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.

External links