FOOTBALL – Lady Club M validates its ticket for the second round

Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (Africa Qualifiers)

Lady Club M validated its qualification for the second round of the qualifiers for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games by dominating Djibouti in all of the two matches played at Côte dâOr. After his 2-1 success in the first leg on Thursday, Maurice confirmed his hold by winning 1-0 (3-1 combined) yesterday.

Kersley Levrai's players approached this second round with a slight advantage, but they knew that no relaxation was allowed. From the kick-off, the Mauritians showed their intentions by taking control with sterile domination, despite possession of the ball throughout the first half, still leaving suspense on the outcome of a qualification.

After the restart, the local players continued to occupy the opposing camp and create favorable situations. In the 49th minute, Jerusha Ramasawmy came close to opening the score, but her opportunity was not converted, the attacker once again coming up against the Gazelles goalkeeper.  The deliverance came in the 75th minute. Anaïs Fourneau, with a superb strike, freeing her teammates.

With this goal, Djibouti then found itself obliged to register three achievements to hope to reverse the trend, a mission which proved out of reach. The Mauritians managed the last minutes with seriousness and discipline to preserve their advantage until the final whistle.

The Lady Club M thus takes an important step in its qualifying campaign and extends its adventure in the Olympic qualifiers. The next challenge, however, promises to be much tougher for Julie Gopaul and her teammates. In the second round, the Mauritians will meet Ghana, one of the powers of African women's football. An opponent of a completely different caliber who will offer the Mauritian selection the opportunity to measure the progress made in recent years. For now, the essential is assured: Maurice has passed the first round and can fully enjoy qualifying.

Furthermore, the Mauritian men's selection, with the Rui Pedro-Daniel Ramsamy tandem at the head, got off to a victorious start by winning the Sikelia Cup, in Italy, last night, winning 2-1 at the expense of the Sicilian selection. This friendly tournament, initially triangular, found only two countries participating, Zanzibar having withdrawn, being blocked in Sicily for refusal of a visa granted. The "new look" Dodos, without its usual numerous expatriates, but not for the first time with three Rodrigues (playing in clubs in Rodrigues) from the trip, opened the scoring in the first half thanks to Yannick Aristide. After the Sicilians equalized, Bradley Antoine, from the penalty spot at the end of the match, gave a first victory under the no.