Football is the most popular sport in

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

. The national governing body is the

Mauritius Football Association The Mauritius Football Association (MFA) is the governing body of football in Mauritius. It was founded in 1952, affiliated to FIFA in 1964 and to CAF in 1965. The association was formerly known as the Mauritius Sports Association but renamed t ...

. 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 Mauritian Premier League is the top division of football in Mauritius, governed by the Mauritius Football Association since its establishment in 1935. Premier League – 2021–22 Clubs * AS Port-Louis 2000 * AS Vacoas-Phoenix * Bolton City Yo ...

, and the top knockout tournament is the

Mauritian Cup The Mauritian Cup is the top knockout tournament of the Mauritian football. It was created in 1957 The

was founded in 1935, and the

(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 The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

, 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. 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) and Scouts Club (renamed as Port Louis Sporting Club), 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 A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

permitted to play during this period. 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 In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

instead of ethnicity or

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

. 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 Mauritians (singular Mauritian; french: Mauricien; Creole: ''Morisien'') are nationals or natives of the Republic of Mauritius and their descendants. Mauritius is a multi-ethnic society, with notable groups of people of South Asian (notably ...

football lies in permitting the formation of clubs on the basis of ethnicity or religion. On the international stage, the national team, known as ''Club M'', has not had much success, only winning the

Indian Ocean Games The Indian Ocean Island Games (french: Jeux des îles de l'océan Indien) is a quadrennial multi-sport event from Indian Ocean island nations. The Games was created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1977 and currently gather the is ...

twice and qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations once in 1974. It has plummeted down the

FIFA World Rankings The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, led by Brazil . The teams of the men's member nations of FIFA, football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the ...

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 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 Co ...

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.

Mauritius national football team

Mauritian League

Mauritian Cup

League system

Notable Mauritian footballers

Born in Mauritius

Of Mauritian heritage

References