The academy, situated at the headquarters of the Mauritania Football Federation (FFRIM), underlines Mauritania’s pioneering efforts and status in global football as well as being a prime example of an institution that has gone from strength to strength under the FIFA Talent Development Scheme (TDS).

The TDS, led by FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger, was launched in 2022 with the aim of helping MA’s to fulfil their potential by ensuring that every talented player has a chance to be detected and developed. It also seeks to enforce measures taken to reduce the disparity in the level of football between different regions of the world.

At a well-attended event graced by the presence of senior FIFA and CAF officials, including FIFA Chief Football Officer, Jill Ellis, FIFA Director of Global Football Development, Steven Martens, FIFA Deputy Chief Member Associations Officer and Regional Director Africa, Gelson Fernandes, CAF General Secretary, Veron Mosengo-Omba and over 30 Africa MA presidents, Mauritania thus become the first MA on the continent to receive the prestigious FIFA Talent Academy certification, in recognition of the outstanding work by FFRIM as far as meeting the established criteria is concerned.

FIFA President, Gianni Infantino said: “This is a great day for football in Mauritania, a country passionate about our beautiful game which is making tremendous strides to grow and develop the sport each day. The opening of the FIFA Talent Academy in Mauritania is a hugely significant moment for young players in this country.”

“The ultimate objectives of FIFA Talent Academies are to develop young players by providing them with the highest levels of training, education and development to help them reach their full potential, contributing to the overall growth of football in the country,” added FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, Arsene Wenger.

The objective of the FIFA Talent Academy amongst others is to develop the best players, act as a role model for the Federation and also create a sustainable football ecosystem towards establishing a long-term, structured pathway for talent development.

To date, FIFA has 24 academies globally, a huge step towards the bigger plan of 75 elite FIFA Talent academies by the end of 2027. FIFA deploys dedicated talent coaches globally to establish academies with best-practice training environments for young players of all genders.

On his part, FFRIM President, Ahmed Yahya said: “Today is a historic moment for Mauritanian football. The opening of this FIFA Talent Academy here in Mauritania reflects FIFA’s confidence in our commitment to the development of football. This investment in training our young talents marks a decisive step towards a more ambitious future for our federation.”

In a related development, FIFA also laid the foundation stone for extension works of the Cheikha Boidiya Stadium, a project funded thanks to the FIFA Forward Program.

With a current capacity of 8,000, the objective of the extension, courtesy of FIFA with a budget of nearly $2.9 million USD, will increase the capacity to a 16,000-seater stadium to accommodate the growing number of football fans in Mauritania.

The stadium was previously upgraded in 2018, with the installation of seats, modernized changing rooms and a media room.

FIFA President Infantino said: “We hope this stadium will become of source of inspiration for boys and girls from the FIFA Talent Academy who could one day wear proudly the national team jersey. This project is a crucial step in improving football infrastructure and fostering the sport’s continued development in Mauritania and it is exactly the type of project we envisaged when the FIFA Forward Programme was introduced in 2016.”

“Today marks a milestone in the journey of Mauritanian football—a true celebration of the nation’s passion for the game. Thanks to the FIFA Forward program, we have officially launched the renovation of the Cheikha Boidiya Stadium, expanding its capacity to 16,000 seats. This key infrastructure project is a testament to FIFA’s commitment to the growth and development of football in Mauritania. We are proud to stand alongside the Mauritanian Football Federation in shaping a bright future for the sport in the country,” added FIFA Deputy Chief Member Associations Officer, Regional Director Africa, Gelson Fernandes.

The FIFA Forward is the largest and biggest sports development programme in the world. It was created in 2016 to redistribute FIFA’s revenues equally among 211 MAs.

The five main areas where funds are used include Infrastructure, Capacity building, Competitions, National teams and subventions as well as specific projects depending on the needs of the respective MA. In line with its strategy to make football truly global, by the end of 2026 FIFA will have invested a record-breaking figure of USD 5 billion in football.

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani has been re-elected as head of state following Saturday’s national vote, winning comfortably in the first round without the need for a run-off.

The electoral commission website shows he took over 56% of the vote, beating six opposition candidates.

In second position was anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid with 22%, while Hamadi Sidi el-Mokhtar of the Islamist Tewassoul party came third with 13%.

The president, a former army chief, is credited with establishing stability since his first election five years ago, after decades of political unrest and frequent coups.

He has been allies with Western partners such as France and the US, but has also kept ties with junta-led neighbours including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, which have pivoted towards Russia in recent years.

Mauritania has largely avoided the Islamist insurgencies affecting neighbouring Sahel states.

On Sunday, Mr Abeid said he would not recognise the results, calling it an “electoral coup”.

“We’ll not accept these results from the so-called independent electoral commission. We’ll use our own electoral commission to proclaim the results,” the AFP news agency quoted him as telling journalists.

Mr Abeid, whose grandparents were slaves and has spent much of his life campaigning against the practice in the country, was vying for presidency for the third time.

He emerged second in the 2019 elections also won by Mr Ghazouani.

He and other opposition candidates alleged irregularities in that election, which led to small-scale protests.

Before this year’s election, the third-place candidate, Mr Mokhtar, warned that his party would not accept the results if it suspected rigging, the AFP news agency reports.

The turnout for the election was about 55%, according to the electoral website.

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According to the reports, the GFA is willing to offer Abdou a monthly salary of $45,000, which exceeds the $35,000 proposed by the Mauritanian Football Federation.

The country’s football governing body is actively seeking Abdou as a potential replacement for Chris Hughton, who was recently dismissed following Ghana’s disappointing performance at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) held in Ivory Coast.

Under Hughton’s leadership, the Black Stars faced elimination in the group stage for the second consecutive time. Placed alongside Cape Verde, Egypt, and Mozambique, Ghana managed to secure only two points out of nine possible.

However, negotiations with Abdou have hit a snag as he expressed discontent with the treatment he received from the Mauritanian media.

Additionally, reports are suggesting that the Mauritanian Football Federation is considering Spanish coach Aritz Lopez Garay as a potential successor to Abdou.

With Abdou’s current contract set to expire on March 1, 2024, the situation is becoming increasingly urgent for both parties.

Abdou notably led Mauritania to their most successful AFCON campaign in Cote d’Ivoire, where they reached the Round of 16 after defeating Algeria in the final group match.

The 51-year-old coach also steered Comoros to their debut appearance in the AFCON tournament in Cameroon two years ago.

Comoros pulled off a remarkable upset by defeating Ghana 3-2 in their final group match, thus advancing to the knockout stage before being eliminated by the hosts in the Round of 16.

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Cape Verde captain Mendes struck the decisive spot kick in the 88th minute and the Blue Sharks will now face either Morocco or South Africa in the quarter-finals.

Cape Verde, one of the surprise teams of the tournament after finishing unbeaten at the top of Group B ahead of Egypt and Ghana, were second best for most of the first half, but finished strongly to secure their passage.

Mauritania reached the tournament’s knockout stages for the first time by defeating two-time winners Algeria 1-0 in their final group game to progress as one of the best third-placed teams.

The first-half action was end-to-end, but clear-cut chances were at a premium, while Mauritania were dealt a blow in the 35th minute when Omare Gassama was carried off on a stretcher and replaced by Guessouma Fofana.

Mendes’ early effort for Cape Verde was deflected into the side-netting and Mauritania captain Mouhsine Bodda curled a 15th-minute free-kick just wide.

Mauritania made all the early running in the second period and Souleymane Anne missed the game’s best chance from open play when firing wide after Sidi Amar’s surging run into the penalty area just before the hour-mark.

Cape Verde came on strongly in the closing stages with both Garry Rodrigues’ drive and Mendes’ header forcing Mauritania goalkeeper Babacar Niasse into excellent saves.

The game’s decisive moment came in the 87th minute when Yassin El Welly’s misplaced headed back-pass was pounced on by substitute Gilson Benchimol, who was brought down by Niasse for a clear penalty.

Mendes held his nerve, drilling his spot-kick down the middle and the Blue Sharks saw out 10 minutes of added time to seal their place in the last eight.

Centre-back Yali Dellahi swept home the winning goal late in the first half to stun the two-time Afcon winners.

Defeat means 2019 champions Algeria exit the tournament at the group stage for the second successive edition.

They finish bottom of Group D while Mauritania will definitely progress as one of the best third-placed teams.

Mauritania will face surprise Group B winners Cape Verde in the last 16 at Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan on Monday (17:00 GMT).

Algeria join fellow former champions Ghana in being eliminated after results earlier on Tuesday meant the Black Stars, with just two points to their name, cannot qualify as one of the top four third-placed sides.

The Lions of Chinguetti had to withstand late pressure and survive more than 11 minutes of stoppage time as Algeria sought a leveller that would have sent them through at Mauritania’s expense.

But the underdogs were good value for a victory that sent them into the knock-out stages alongside second-placed Burkina Faso and Angola, who sealed top spot in the group by beating the Burkinabe 2-0.

Dala’s first-half opener was cancelled out by Sidi Amar, but he scored his second soon after the interval and Gilberto put Angola 3-1 ahead three minutes later.

Aboubakary Koita fired a stunning second goal for Mauritania just before the hour-mark and his side searched for an equaliser in a pulsating match, but Angola held on.

Mabululu, who stepped off the bench to score in Angola’s opening 1-1 draw with Algeria, forced the first save of the match with an angled drive.

Both sides created plenty of first-half chances and Pape Ba went close for Mauritania when his shot from inside the penalty area was saved.

Angola took a deserved lead in the 30th minute when Dala provided a thumping close-range finish, only for Mauritania to equalise against the run of play before the breakthrough Amar’s low finish from inside the area.

It was Mauritania’s first-ever African Cup of Nations goal from open play.

In first-half stoppage time, Mauritania’s Omare Gassama forced Angola goalkeeper Neblu into a brilliant low save and Dala was denied at the other end by Babacar Niasse.

The Palancas Negras appeared to take control early in the second half with two goals in the space of three minutes.

Dala burst through the middle into the penalty area and although forced wide, he fired a left-footed finish into the far corner to put Angola 2-1 up in the 50th minute.

Angola doubled their lead in the 53rd minute. Gilberto pounced on Mauritania substitute Khadim Diaw’s mistake in the box and his angled shot flew into the net via a deflection.

In a see-saw encounter Mauritania hit back five minutes later with an early contender for goal of the tournament.

Koita dropped his shoulder to make space 30 yards from goal and unleashed an unstoppable shot into Neblu’s top right-hand corner.

Neblu thwarted Amar with a flying save and as the chances continued to flow, Dala was denied his hat-trick by Mauritania goalkeeper Niasse.

Koita fired off target as Mauritania, who lost out to a stoppage-time penalty in their opening 1-0 defeat to Burkina Faso, pressed for an equaliser but they failed to carve out any further clear-cut chances.