How Mauritania used FIFA Goal Project fund to become giant killers

Mauritania’s team and staff celebrate after they won the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 group D football match between Mauritania and Algeria at Stade de la Paix in Bouake on January 23, 2024. (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP) / ALTERNATE CROP – ALTERNATE CROP

The on-going 34th Africa Cup of Nations will go down as one competition with a lot of history, particularly on the giant killing escapades of countries hitherto known as minnows. Mauritania is one of these underdogs.

On Tuesday, many African football lovers were shocked when lowly-rated Mauritania eliminated two-time champions, Algeria, from the AFCON, securing their first ever win at the championship. The 34th African Cup of Nations holding in Cote d’Ivoire is the third for Mauritania.

A country largely covered by desert, Mauritania lies in northwest Africa with a population of about four million people.

For 18 years, between 1995-2003, Mauritania never won a single football match. And in 2010, the country withdrew from AFCON qualifiers en route Angola 2010 due to financial crisis.

A year later, 2011, Mauritania was ranked 207 by World Football governing body, FIFA, thus becoming the poorest football country in the World. But things began to take an upward swing for Mauritania in the middle of 2011, when Ahmed Yahya was elected as the FA president.

Yahya settled down for work immediately by restructuring the league, a department that holds the key position in football development.

Determined to succeed, the FA boss, Yahya, set up Mauritania youth teams and got the country’s biggest Telcom to sponsor their league. He also fixed players’ salaries to ensure they stayed focused on football alone.

Perhaps, Yahya’s biggest contribution to Mauritania’s football was using the