"The Managing Committee of the Mauritius Football Association (MFA) is being dissolved pursuant to section 9 (9) of the Sports Act 2016, and a Temporary Committee is being set up with a specific mandate."

The Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation, Mr Jean Christophe Stephan Toussaint, made this announcement, this morning, during a press conference held at the seat of the Ministry in Port-Louis.

Minister Stephan Toussaint emphasised that the setting-up of the Temporary Committee was a consequence of the MFA's non-conformity to the law since the implementation of the Sports Act of 2013 and 2016. "This decision has been taken after several meetings and discussions with the concerned parties," stressed the Minister.

He added that the Temporary Committee had been set up to avoid the MFA's deregistration by amending its functioning and was being given a timeframe of three months to make the necessary changes.

The Sports Minister informed that the Temporary Committee would be chaired by Mr Jean-Pierre Raymond Sauzier, and would comprise representatives from the State Law Office; the Registrar of Associations; the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation; the Mauritius Olympic Committee; and two other members.

Furthermore, Mr Toussaint outlined the specific mandate of the Temporary Committee, namely: to manage the day-to-day affairs of the Federation; to amend the rules of the MFA with a view to aligning same with the provisions of the Sports Act 2016; to organise and supervise elections at regional and national levels within a period of three months; and to organise competitions with regard to the current football leagues and continue preparation of the Club M for major international events, for which a Technical Committee will be set up.

The Minister pointed out that the Technical Committee would be chaired by Mr Sarjoo Gowreesunkur, who served as the national football team coach for Mauritius in the past.