The tiny Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius is known for its beautiful beaches, sandy shores and tropical charm… but not yet for its football prowess.
Soccer remains hugely popular on the island, but with around 1.25-million people calling it home, it is the size of a modest city elsewhere on the continent.
That makes creating a competitive team on the international stage a challenge, but there are plans afoot to develop the game in Mauritius, especially for girls, to help the country punch above its weight.
Mauritius are among the lowest-ranked teams globally in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, but with a new generation of starlets coming through, Mauritius Football Association (MFA) Women’s football development officer and Under-17 national team coach Anielle Collet can see a brighter future.
She has worked in football for the last 23 years, having been drawn to the game as a young girl herself, and has seen many positive changes.
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She believes football is not just a sport in Mauritius, but an important part of the social fabric of the island.
“It’s part of our culture,” Collet tells FORBES AFRICA. “You can see everyone eager every weekend to watch the games. From where I come from, a small island, football is like a community base; everyone involved in the game is part of this community.”
Collet has been at the forefront of football development in Mauritius for the past few years, and is proud of the progress made by the MFA with the professionalization and promotion of the women’s game.
“We can see that the level of competition is increasing more and more,” she says. “Also, we now have players that are playing abroad in France, the United States and Canada. We can see there is improvement and at the football association we are putting much effort into the promotion of women’s football.
“To market it and commercialize it, we have a social platform where it is visible everywhere. We can see this change now.
“Before, it was stagnant. But now there is an increase because we have academies and a league that is running. We started to have female coaches and the game generally has become more visible.”
The MFA has been following a strategic plan, starting at youth and grassroots level, to develop a clear player pathway to the senior national side and the professional level, according to Collet. This involves the improvement of not only players, but staff as well.
The impact of these initiatives has been positive, with the impact measurable and easy to see in certain areas of development.
“We can see now that there are more girls that are keen to play football because there are special programmes put in place by FIFA and football academies, and we can see that schools are starting to do inter-college matches (for girls),” Collet says.
Mauritius’ progress can be followed further when they compete in the COSAFA Under-17 Girls’ Championship in Windhoek, Namibia, from May 10-17.
“This will contribute to the development of a clear player pathway as they get the opportunity to showcase their talent at youth level on the COSAFA stage. This furthermore gives the players the opportunity to emerge at senior level,” Collet adds.
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