Goal Programme - Mauritius Football Association - 2005

Football is the number one sport in Mauritius. There are 11,000 registered footballers (male and female), in a population totaling 1,200,000. Two stadiums host international matches, while a further six hold games in the domestic league championship. Approximately 450 private and public playing fields encourage football among the masses. However, the national association has yet to experience any real success on the pitch, but the football-crazy Mauritians look back fondly upon two matches in particular. During qualifying for the African Cup of Nations 2000, the national team secured a 1-1 draw at home in the King George V Stadium against South Africa, and also defeated a strong Angola team 2-0 in Luanda. Jean-Marc Ithier is one of the few players to ply his trade abroad (Santos FC Club, in Cape Town, South Africa).

The association headquarters building provided under Project I complete with a new grass pitch is to be extended in Project II to form the 'House of Football', including a technical centre and three additional training pitches. The aim of the extension is to concentrate all the association's football activities at one central location, while also improving the working conditions of administrative staff and facilitating course work.