Football’s accelerating growth in Mauritania, a northwest African nation of 5.5 million people, is a testament not only to the game’s powerful potential, but the fruitful partnership between FIFA and the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (FFRIM).

“Today, we’ve become a respected organisation and a model for development, and, I believe, a good example of what the FIFA Forward Programme can help build over the long term,” FFRIM President and FIFA Council Member Ahmed Yahya said. Indeed, football is finally flowering in the desert. Mauritania’s men’s national team, which was below 200th in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking as recently as 2013, has now climbed to 113th. The Lions of Chinguetti reached the CAF Africa Cup of Nations in 2019, 2022 and then again in 2024, when they advanced to the round of 16 for the first time in their history.

Meanwhile, the nascent women’s team returned to competition in last year’s Women's Cup WAFU-A 2025 and then this spring’s groundbreaking FIFA Series, where they earned victories over Pakistan and Turks and Caicos Islands. At the time, Coach Jordi Arimany called the inaugural FIFA Series matches in Côte d’Ivoire “a special moment for my players” and a “tremendous opportunity to improve.”

Mauritania also made their maiden appearance in a FIFA Tournament at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2025™ in Seychelles.

“Over the past few years, our football has significantly developed. We’ve been improving on the pitch, obviously, but we’ve also dramatically grown as a federation, with the FIFA Forward Programme playing a vital role in this development,” said Mr Yahya, who has been FFRIM President since 2011. “We’ve seen the results on the pitch, with three consecutive qualifications to the (CAF) Africa Cup of Nations, including a historic first-ever qualification back in 2019,” he added. “However, more importantly, and going beyond our sporting results, the (FIFA) Forward Programme has allowed us to structure, invest and build.”

Since 2016, when President Gianni Infantino took office, FIFA Forward has funnelled nearly USD 5.1 billion toward football development at national and regional levels, with each individual Member Association (MA) receiving up to USD 8 million each during phase 3.0 (2023-26). That represents a seven-fold increase from early 2016. When deployed with care and precision, those funds can reshape a country’s football landscape, not to mention its competitive destiny.

Mauritania’s most significant FIFA Forward investment has been the renovation and dramatic expansion of the Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya in the capital, Nouakchott, with work now underway to increase the facility’s capacity to 16,000. The FFRIM has also used FIFA Forward funding to install a new synthetic pitch at the Stade Municipal de Nouadhibou, purchase vehicles for the women’s national team, launch a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system for the top domestic division, upgrade and enlarge federation headquarters and training facilities (including a shop, restaurant and broadcast centre), and fund enhancements – including a health centre – at the FFRIM Football Academy in Nouakchott. That academy investment, which was part of FIFA Forward 2.0 (2019-22), helped pave the way for the February 2025 opening of the FIFA Talent Academy Mauritania, the first Talent Academy opened in Africa under FIFA’s ambitious Talent Development Scheme.

At that time, the FIFA President called it “a great day for football in Mauritania – a country that is passionate about our beautiful sport [and] where football progresses and grows from day to day,” while Mr Yahya said FIFA’s investment “demonstrates the confidence of the world body in our commitment to the development of football.” Mauritania’s commitment was already evident back in March 2022, when it became the first African country to launch FIFA Football for Schools. It also implemented the FIFA Foundation’s Digital Education Programme, an educational initiative which provides technological tools as well as learning, training, and mentoring resources to primary schools in vulnerable environments.

“I would really like to highlight two projects in particular: the academy and the sports and medical centre. Firstly, the academy because it’s our future. Today, we are able to recruit young players, train them and support them here in Mauritania, in a place that favours their development, both in terms of sports and education. This is crucial for us,” Mr Yahya said. “Then, there is the sports and medical centre,” he continued. “Today, we are able to better support our players, manage their medical follow-up, work on preventing injuries, and provide care and recovery support with appropriate equipment. We are extremely proud of these two projects. They are here for the long run and to serve several generations of players.”

Combined, the initiatives have provided a long-awaited launchpad for Mauritanian football. The will and support are there, thanks to FIFA Forward and an array of additional programmes, and the future is bright. “This is the impact of the FIFA Forward (Programme). We can clearly see the results of this impact today, but more importantly, these investments will keep supporting our football for many years to come,” Mr Yahya concluded. “This is what makes this programme so important for a federation like ours.”