Football: Mauritius Parts Ways with Coach Guillaume Moullec at the End of April 2026
The Mauritius Football Association has confirmed the separation from French coach Guillaume Moullec at the end of April 2026, ending two years of mixed collaboration with the Mauritian national team.
It’s official. The Mauritius Football Association (MFA) confirmed on Wednesday that the national team of Mauritius will part ways with its French coach Guillaume Moullec at the end of April 2026, concluding two years of collaboration marked by lackluster results and unfulfilled hopes.
Two Years of Tenure, A Mixed Record
Guillaume Moullec took the reins of the Mauritian selection in March 2024, succeeding Akbar Patel, whose tenure ended without much success. The French coach, previously active in North African leagues, was recruited with a clear mission: to professionalize the management of the national team and improve Mauritius’s FIFA ranking, which was then stagnating around the 170th place in the world.
His record, at the time of assessment, is difficult to judge. On one hand, real progress has been observed in the team’s tactical organization. The Dodos adopted a more structured pressing and better field occupation, particularly during the qualification phase for CAN 2025. On the other hand, the results did not follow: Mauritius finished third in its qualifying group, behind Madagascar and Comoros, two nations traditionally comparable in terms of level.
The Matches That Sealed the Coach’s Fate
Several matches weighed heavily in the MFA’s decision. The 3-0 defeat against Mozambique in September 2025, on neutral ground, raised questions about Moullec’s ability to advance the team in direct confrontations against similarly ranked opponents. Then, the 2-1 loss to Rwanda in November, while Mauritius was leading in the first half, drew criticism from many supporters and local football stakeholders.
The lack of consistency in performances, coupled with controversial selection choices — notably the absence of several players playing in foreign leagues — gradually eroded the trust between the technical staff and the governing bodies.
The Mauritian Football Diaspora, An Underutilized Resource
One of the issues left unresolved by Moullec is the integration of Mauritian players from the diaspora. Several footballers born in Mauritius or with Mauritian parents play in European national or regional leagues, particularly in France, and could have strengthened the overall level of the selection. Contacts had been initiated, but few resulted in actual call-ups.
This pool remains a priority for the MFA, which hopes that the next coach will make it a central focus of their sports project. The neighboring island of Réunion, which competes with Mauritius in the Indian Ocean region, has successfully leveraged this same resource to elevate its team to a higher competitive level in recent years.
The Successor’s Profile Already Under Discussion
The MFA indicated that a call for applications will be officially launched as early as May. According to sources close to the federation, priority will be given to a coach capable of combining knowledge of African football with experience in developing young players. A profile capable of working on two fronts simultaneously: short-term results for the senior team and building a talent pool in the medium term through the U17 and U20 teams.
Several names are already circulating in the corridors of the Anjalay Stadium in Belle Vue, including coaches who have worked in East Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. The stakes are clear: to put Mauritius back on a path of sustainable progress before the next qualification window for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
L’équipe éditoriale de ZotNews. Une rédaction indépendante qui vérifie et cite ses sources pour informer l’île Maurice.
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