Mark Haskins

MAURITANIA 🇲🇷 A country largely covered by desert. In 18 years, ie between 1995-2003, they never won a single football match. In 2010, they withdrew from AFCON qualifiers due to financial crisis. By 2011, they were ranked [207] by FIFA, practically the poorest football country in the world. Then in 2011, their Federation voted Ahmed Yahya as FA President. He restructured the league. Set up youth teams. Got the country’s biggest Telcom to sponsor the league. Player salaries fixed. By 2014, they won their first away game in history, beating Liberia. They used €10m FIFA Goal Project funds and renovated their national stadium. Build an ultra modern Headquarters. Built a Training Complex with hotel rooms and TV/Radio studio. Camped U-15 team in the complex and started a youth development program. On his tour of Africa, FIFA Prez Infantino praised Mauritania as one of the few African countries with proper accountability of the FIFA funds. By 2019, they qualified for their first AFCON. 2021, qualified for the second AFCON the squad including some of the Youth players they developed from 2015. In 2023, qualified for third AFCON. Today, they won their first AFCON game, beating almighty Algeria. Everything in the video below.