Accra — In the world of Association Football, a gulf, as wide as the Indian Ocean, separates the Black Stars of Ghana from the Mauritius national football team, the Dodos, who do battle with their hosts at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra on Sunday, to begin the long and tedious journey of qualifying for the 2017 African Cup of Nations championship in oil-rich Gabon.
While the Black Stars are ranked 34th in the world and fourth on the continent of Africa, the Mauritius national team -the Dodos- occupy the 176th position on the league table of global football. There is no basis for comparison when it comes to achievements on the continent. The Black Stars have contested the final of finals on nine different occasions, winning the trophy on four occasions, and being decorated as losing finalists on five different occasions. Mauritius have only one appearance in 1974. The Dodos failed to go past the group stages.
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