Mauritius look for improvement in regional U17 competition
The TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2026 | COSAFA Qualifiers will be staged in Harare, Zimbabwe from September 11-20 with 12 teams hoping to reach the continental finals that are to be held next year.
It will be fascinating to see which sides emerge to not only take the crown, but also advance with the chance of becoming African champions.
The eighth part of our team profiles looks at Mauritius, who returned to the competition last time round after several years of not competing.
MAURITIUS
Last five tournament finishes:
2019 – Did not enter
2020 – Did not enter
2021 – Did not enter
2022 – Did not enter
2024 – Group Stages
Mauritius made a welcome return to the COSAFA Men’s Under-17 Championship in 2024 having not appeared since they finished fourth on home soil in 2018.
On that occasion they recorded wins over Namibia (1-0) and Seychelles (6-1) and advanced to the semifinals despite an opening 1-0 defeat by Botswana. They went through as the best runner-up.
They were beaten 2-0 by South Africa in the semifinals, and then lost 2-1 to Namibia in the battle for bronze.
They were finalists in 2017 in a tournament they also hosted, beating South Africa 2-0 in the semifinals, but losing 3-0 to Zambia in the decider. It is the closest they have come to lifting the trophy.
They also had group stage exits in 2007, 2016 and 2024. In the latter tournament they drew their opener 0-0 with Comoros, but lost to Botswana (2-0) and South Africa (3-2).
Mauritius have never been to the continental finals before in this age group.
