Маврикий футбол қауымдастығы: тарихы мен қазіргі жағдайы

Governing body of association football in Mauritius

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 to Mauritius Football Association in 1984 through the introduction of a Sports Act by the government. 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. The Mauritius Football Association organizes the national football league and the national team.

The association has undergone numerous upheavals over the years, its troubles ranging from perpetual financial shortages to constant changes of presidents, and has been criticized by 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 instead 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. The decline in popularity of domestic football is also attributed to the Mauritian Premier League's major restructuring prior to the 2000/2001 season.) and Scouts Club (renamed as Port Louis Sporting Club 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. In August 2021, police launched an investigation after a recording device was found in the women's toilets at the Mauritius FA headquarters. Later that month, two board members stepped down over the MFA's handling of the accusations.