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Football in Mauritius has the distinction of being one of the most popular Mauritius sports. There are 11,000 registered players including the male and female footballers. Being the nation's most popular sport, the game has got a huge number of fans. Mauritius Football is encouraged by about 450 private and public playing grounds. There are two stadiums in the country, which host international matches and 6 stadiums to hold matches for the domestic league championship.
Mauritians are indeed crazy about football. Football in Mauritius suffered a set back due to the government's ban on the teams divided on racial and ethnic lines. An unfortunate incident, which took the proportions of a race riot, happened in 1999 after a championship league final. The supporters collided over the result of the match. The incident prompted the government to place a ban on club level football in Mauritius. The ban lasted for a prolonged period of eight months. The official governing body of Mauritian football, the MFA, has taken new initiatives to promote football in Mauritius. However, this new format of Mauritian football has failed to recapture the popularity of the previous Mauritian football league.
This situation in Mauritian soccer has led the people of the country to turn to European soccer for excitement. Though the football authorities of Mauritius are trying their best to promote the sport in the country, yet European soccer continues to dominate the fans' interests.
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