Mauritius joined Cosafa in 1999 and have been regular competitors in its tournaments since.
‘Club M’ are building a new-look side as they seek to become more competitive in future events, seeking to recapture past glories including qualifying in 1974 for the African Nations Cup finals.
The side is coached by Akbar Patel, who has had a number of spells in charge of the team.
Mauritius’ Cosafa Cup record
Mauritius caused arguably the biggest upset in Cosafa Castle Cup history in 2004 when they beat South Africa, who had a full-strength team headed to the African Nations Cup finals in Tunisia, in the first round in Curepipe.
But Club M are still seeking to get past the quarter-final stage of the southern African championship. In 2001, Mauritius were quarter-finalists after beating Namibia and but then lost 1-0 to Angola in Luanda.
In 2004 their hopes were dashed in the last eight when they went down 3-1 to Zambia. In 2008 they suffered the indignity of a 7-0 thrashing at the hands of fellow islanders, Seychelles, the biggest defeat in the history of the competition.
The side exited the 2013 finals in the group phase despite a thumping 4-0 win over Seychelles in their final match.
ˆ€*Mauritius entered the 2015 Cosafa Castle Cup with high hopes, but were bundled out in the first round despite again defeating Seychelles.
Club M won the gold medal at the 2003 Indian Ocean Island Games, beating Reunion in the final at their newly-refurbished stadium at Curepipe. Mauritius only joined COSAFA in 1999 and played in the Cosafa Castle Cup for the first time in 2000.
A long-time participant in all African competitions, Mauritius have been finalists at the African Nations Cup once before, participating in the 1974 tournament. The country also hosted the first-ever African under-20 championships.
Overall Cosafa Cup record:
P W D L GF GA
23 5 3 15 18 40
Honours: 1985, 2003 Indian Ocean Island Games winners
FIFA ranking: 154
CAF ranking: 47
