Football Culture in Mauritius

[Eunice]

Hi

For people like me, who has never been to Mauritius, what's the culture like? For example, which country/countries is/are similar to Mauritius, in terms of standard of living, population, race?

Basically, what should I be expecting to experience?

Are there places where I can continue to watch my favorite football league games and UEFA Champions League games while holidaying there?

Or do the hotels provide in-house channels for the broadcast of football matches?

[Dietmar]

Hello Eunice,

nice to hear from you again.

"For people like me, who has never been to Mauritius, what's the culture like? For example, which country/countries is/are similar to Mauritius, in terms of standard of living, population, race?"

Thats a big question! And I'm sure a big topic discussion as well.
What the culture is like ? Lets go through some short history. Mauritius was once an uninhabited island populated by birds and the now extinct bird Dodo and there were many indigenous animals and plants that unfortunately have dissapeared now. Mauritius was discovered by Arabs and Portuguese but they didn't settle. The ones to settle the first were the Dutch. They came here around the 16th century and stayed here
for nearly a 100 years, bringing slaves, Deers, and sugar cane. They practised deforestation of the great ebony trees and killed all Dodos which must have been yummy! So they planted sugar cane here, made some sugar and rhum and practised some trade. Mauritius being on the trade routes played an important role for trade ships to stop by and replenish their stocks of Water and food and was also an important military key strategic place thus Mauritius is also called the key of the Indian Ocean which is also found in its national emblem. Due to cyclones the Dutch left Mauritius and left behind some slaves. Later on the French came, must be in the 17th century, who took over the island, settled down and developped the whole island and also brought their slaves along. In 1810 the British took over the island after a battle that they won in bringing lots of battle ships, but they let the French stay as they were already settled, so the british took over the administration. As slavery got abolished in 1836, the british then brought workers from india to come and work here and a small group of chinese came as well. As Mauritius was being developed, it also attracted traders, merchants, skilled craftsmen, skilled businessmen, skilled accountants, clerks and secretaries from France, India and the UK predominantly to come and work here. This, thus brought different kinds of people, with different backgrounds, religions and cultures to this one little island. And it has never stopped. People from all over the world have kept on moving to Mauritius since the time its economy has become attractive for investors and a new community here has emerged which is called "the expats". In the past when times were tough, many mauritians also left Mauritius to live abroad, especially France, UK, Australia, South Africa and Canada. Some of them have returned, some will never come back. So from this historical background has emerged our new mauritian culture, which is still new, fragile, and being formed. National awareness is slowly growing and progressing. The society is really mixed. In different places you have different communities living next to each other in peace. Some places have some predominant communities, and some new town outskirts are more mixed. The new generations, with better education, communication and media is melting more and more together into being one nation. So the culture here is really a melting pot and often an example to many countries of the world. People respect the differences like race, culture and faith in different believes. And the creole language unites us all, its a language spoken by most people on the island. People here usually speak up to 3 languages, most often one language of their origins and then the international ones such as French and English plus creole so some people also speak more than 3, some speak 4. 5 or even more... Well, this "short" answer doesn't really answer in its complete form how the culture is, but you can maybe get a slight picture, I mean we can go in depth on this topic with the next postings. First of all I'll let you assimilate this bunch of information first, maybe you can in the meantime read some history of Mauritius that you can find online and in wikipedia.

Countries that are similar to Mauritius ? Difficult to answer, in its way, Mauritius is unique. I've not been in any country that ressembled Mauritius though. Maybe people that have been in Singapore might say there is some ressemblance ? But definitely Singapore would be way more advanced! Maybe some places in India might ressemble Mauritius to. And some people even have gone that far to say that some spots look like california

"Basically, what should I be expecting to experience?"

An experience worth experiencing live! We can talk more about that later.

"Are there places where I can continue to watch my favorite football league games and UEFA Champions League games while holidaying there?"

Sure, you have cable TV and satellite TV, should be possible. Depends on where you stay, if they offer you those channels.

"Or do the hotels provide in-house channels for the broadcast of football matches?"

Yes, but you need to ask them before.

[Eunice]

Hi Dietmar

Great to hear from you too. As usual, you are very helpful and resourceful. Hee.

Oh yes, when I was reading the brief history of Mauritius, I thought I was reading the history of Singapore! Haha! It's really similar. Just that the culture of Singapore is mixed with more of Asia's culture on the whole. Thus, our local population comprises more of Chinese, Malays and Indians. With the influx of expatriates, we too have become multi-cultural.

English is our first language in school, thus tourists can converse with us easily. Though our local language are still spoken more frequently on a casual basis, like the different dialects of Chinese, Malay and Indian.

Singapore is really small so in a way, it can be governed be upgraded more easily, as a whole generation. We have limited ground so architecturally, we have to grow upwards and thus, most of our natural resources have to give way to high-rise buildings throughout. To me, it is still the best and safest country to live in, especially from natural disasters such as earthquakes, and rain or snow storms. Though we love to travel to places where natural resources (namely beaches and forestation) are reserved, for us to enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature.

Hmm, this makes me curious. Does Mauritius have 4 seasons? Or just like Singapore, summer throughout? What's the best time to visit Mauritius, with perhaps local festivities being held in a granduer manner, for us to see the culture of Mauritius?

In Singapore, whenever big games are being broadcasted, coffee joints and pubs will show the telecasts via big projector screens for people to hang out and watch the games together, instead of watching alone at home via cable channels. Does Mauritius have such a football scene too?

[Dietmar]

Hi Eunice,

hope you are having a nice week end in singapore then!?

"Oh yes, when I was reading the brief history of Mauritius, I thought I was reading the history of Singapore! Haha! It's really similar. Just that the culture of Singapore is mixed with more of Asia's culture on the whole. Thus, our local population comprises more of Chinese, Malays and Indians. With the influx of expatriates, we too have become multi-cultural."

In Mauritius the dominant group of people comes from Asia to, mainly from India.

"English is our first language in school, thus tourists can converse with us easily. Though our local language are still spoken more frequently on a casual basis, like the different dialects of Chinese, Malay and Indian."

Here at primary school pupils learn english, french and an oriental language of their choice usually corresponding to their origins. In high school they then choose another language such as spanish.

"Singapore is really small so in a way, it can be governed be upgraded more easily, as a whole generation."

Mauritius is a little bit bigger than singapore, around 3-4 times the size of singapore. But Mauritius also has a sea territory which is around a million square kilometres which includes some islands such as Rodrigues where people also live. Mauritius is also experiencing a rapid upgrade of its economy and infrastructure at the moment. Mauritius still dreams and aspires to reach the level of singapore someday.

"We have limited ground so architecturally, we have to grow upwards and thus, most of our natural resources have to give way to high-rise buildings throughout."

This is not the case yet here. Some cities have some sky scrapers, but they are not by way as high as in your country. Maybe in future we will have some as those. We still have space for agriculture here. There is still a long way to go in improving the agricultural sector. Compared to Africa, Mauritius is way ahead, but its level of efficiency is not yet that good because we still import lots of vegetables that we could have planted here on our own. Also some African countries have provided Mauritius land that can be developed by us. And Madagascar aspires to become the central grains distribution country and depot in our region as they have very good and big vast lands excellent for rice cultivation and other crops. How is Singapore handling its dependancy on food imports ?

"To me, it is still the best and safest country to live in, especially from natural disasters such as earthquakes, and rain or snow storms."

Mauritius is quite safe in sense of criminality even though it doesn't mean you can go walking around anywhere alone at night. Concerning weather, Mauritius is located in a region where there are Hurricanes during summer, so from time to time we are visited by these.

"Though we love to travel to places where natural resources (namely beaches and forestation) are reserved, for us to enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature."

...which you could enjoy here very well

"Hmm, this makes me curious. Does Mauritius have 4 seasons?"

No, just 2. Summer and Winter. Summer is like from november till may, and winter is from june till the end of october. All year round its nice to visit. Winter here is in some regions more enjoyable than its hot humid summer. Depends on what the person prefers. On summer its also nicer to go the beach as the water is warmer. Summer here averages a 33°C during the day and Winter averages temperatures in its 23°C. Humidity here is often around 80 - 90%-

"Or just like Singapore, summer throughout?"

Probably as humid as singapore.

"What's the best time to visit Mauritius"

Hmm, depends on what kind of weather you prefer. Really nice is also May. Not to hot, not to cold..

"with perhaps local festivities being held in a granduer manner, for us to see the culture of Mauritius?"

Actually in mauritius, every community has its public hollidays which amount to around 14 public hollidays a year also including the chinese new year celebration, the ramadan and so on...
But you can come at anytime, to experience the culture of mauritius! In my new coming website we will talk more of these festivities, so maybe you can select a date then corresponding to a celebration you might want to experience.

"In Singapore, whenever big games are being broadcasted, coffee joints and pubs will show the telecasts via big projector screens for people to hang out and watch the games together, instead of watching alone at home via cable channels. Does Mauritius have such a football scene to? "

Hmm, i don't think such a lively scene exists here yet. Most often people gather in groups at friends home to watch the games. Here in Grand Baie, where I stay, which is the most popular location in Mauritius for tourism, has several bars, and in my street there is the Bar B51 which often displays football games through a projector. I've watched some stuff there, but not the full games. The last game i watched in a bar was for the last world cup in 2006 where I was in France, we watched France loose, don't remember against whom they played...

[Eunice]

Hi Dietmar

Hope you had a great weekend too!

For us, we have mini farms for the breeding of pets and we do produce local food products such as chicken, eggs, pigs, fish etc. But we do have to import food products in general. But this dependence is ok as our location is considered a great centre for trading in the first place, and of course as a financial hub too.

Our housing estates are well-lit with road lamps so if we stick to the "main roads", as a lady, I actually find it safe to go for walks alone, anytime. I used to walk 2 hours around my housing estate, in the middle of the night, to sort out my thoughts. And after a long night of partying, I can take a cabby home alone without worrying.

But of course, there will always be danger lurking around the corner so it is always better to be safe than to be sorry. Hee.

The weather in Mauritius is actually similar to Singapore. We do get a slight feel of the 4 seasons, though the degree only range between 21 - 35 degree celsius. Summer (humid), then autumn (windy), then winter (rainy), then spring (sunny but not humid).

Hopefully, your people can have a feel of watching football as a nation. Perhaps then both the international and local football scenes in Mauritius can revive to what it used to be. Though the danger is some people may get drunk and get too personal with the matches' results. But as far as I noticed, only a handful got out of hand so the rest of us just ignored them. Haha.

Thank you for the information and insights. Whenever I come across a topic that involves Mauritius, you can be sure to "see" me around. Cheers.

[Dietmar]

Hi Eunice,

Yes, had a nice week end and how did your christmas go ? The weather here is very humid and warm at the moment. Couldn't imagine working without an aircon in the office at the moment. I guess in Singapore its Aircon everywhere ???

For us, we have mini farms for the breeding of pets and we do produce local food products such as chicken, eggs, pigs, fish etc. But we do have to import food products in general. But this dependence is ok as our location is considered a great centre for trading in the first place, and of course as a financial hub too.

Yes indeed, due to this beneficial location, and being a world market trading place, you actually benefit from low prices I guess, lower than if you would produce it on the scarce and expensive land you have left. So Singapore uses effeciently its land to make out of it the highest returns possible then. I can see that Singapore is really good at this!

By the way, some years ago I read somewhere that the Government was interested into introducing a plastic card for payments and remove coins and bank notes, did this actually get established ?

And I also remember that a trader once, bought Barings for 1$ ? or something similar, or sold it for 1$, this must have made headlines in Singapore, you still remember that ?

Our housing estates are well-lit with road lamps so if we stick to the "main roads", as a lady, I actually find it safe to go for walks alone, anytime. I used to walk 2 hours around my housing estate, in the middle of the night, to sort out my thoughts. And after a long night of partying, I can take a cabby home alone without worrying.

That makes it a safe place to live Well, here, for a lady, it wouldn't be safe to go walking around alone. It would actually be wierd as this is very uncommon. By they way, i thought you were a guy! ...especially cause of the football! lol!

The weather in Mauritius is actually similar to Singapore. We do get a slight feel of the 4 seasons, though the degree only range between 21 - 35 degree celsius. Summer (humid), then autumn (windy), then winter (rainy), then spring (sunny but not humid).

How about cyclones or hurricanes, you get any of those ?

Hopefully, your people can have a feel of watching football as a nation. Perhaps then both the international and local football scenes in Mauritius can revive to what it used to be. Though the danger is some people may get drunk and get too personal with the matches' results. But as far as I noticed, only a handful got out of hand so the rest of us just ignored them. Haha.

A few years ago, mauritius was doing well in african cup games, but now I hear nothing. But you are right, a good national team, playing abroad with locally well known players would stir up the national spirit. But helas its not at this level anymore...

Thank you for the information and insights. Whenever I come across a topic that involves Mauritius, you can be sure to "see" me around. Cheers.

Well 2009 is close around the door, so if we don't hear from each other till then I would like to take this moment to wish you a happy new years eve, a good start in 2009, all the best, good health and progress in your work and life. Take care, bye bye, Dietmar.

[Eunice]

Originally Posted by Dietmar

Yes, had a nice week end and how did your christmas go ? The weather here is very humid and warm at the moment. Couldn't imagine working without an aircon in the office at the moment. I guess in Singapore its Aircon everywhere ???

Oh yes, even at home. Most of our food centres and shopping centres are fully air-conned.

Originally Posted by Dietmar

By the way, some years ago I read somewhere that the Government was interested into introducing a plastic card for payments and remove coins and bank notes, did this actually get established ?

Hmm, not sure exactly what you are referring to but we do have what we call "Cashcard", or are you talking about our "Nets"?

Cashcard is a card with monetary value that you can top-up at specific machines and many merchants can accept it for payment. But unlike credit card or debit card (which require your signature), it is dangerous to some extent as anyone can use the card if you misplace and lose it.

Our Nets is actually a card with which you can withdraw, deposit, check account balances, transfer funds etc. via ATM machines of the specific bank(s). Most merchants accept Nets, even to pay for taxi fares. It require you to input a personalized pin for any monetary transaction via a machine owned by any merchant. Same as Debit Card, it is linked directly to your bank account. As long as you have the funds in your account, you can use it.

Originally Posted by Dietmar

And I also remember that a trader once, bought Barings for 1$ ? or something similar, or sold it for 1$, this must have made headlines in Singapore, you still remember that ?

Oh yes, though I was still too young to comprehend the full story and consequences then. But this later became a case study during my studies.

Originally Posted by Dietmar

That makes it a safe place to live Well, here, for a lady, it wouldn't be safe to go walking around alone. It would actually be wierd as this is very uncommon. By they way, i thought you were a guy! ...especially cause of the football! lol!

Oh, my negligence. I thought "Eunice" is a common name internationally. Haha. I do find it hard to find ladies who love football as much as I do, so it is a common perception ya. Hee.

Originally Posted by Dietmar

How about cyclones or hurricanes, you get any of those ?

As far as I remembered, due to our unique location, we do not have any natural disaster. It's so rare that any slight tremor, terrible storm or heavy fog would have made headlines in Singapore for weeks.

Welcome 2009!

Cheers
Eunice

[Dietmar]

Hi Eunice, how are you keeping ? long time no read

I've got some news for you. As you can imagine, Mauritius will be in some way affected by the world cup since its not that far away from South Africa. Yesterday I saw for the first time a tv program about the current developments in football (soccer) in Mauritius. The program was called "Kick Off Moris". Mauritius and Rodrigues are setup in 5 zones, and those 5 zones have in total 13 regional football teams. Most of them still very young. Its all new. There is also a first league which is sponsored by Barclays. They young generation are now competing for the Copa Coca Cola Cup.

The state, the private sector and a few foundations have joined forces together to give football a new launch. It looks promising but will take a bunch of years to ripen as most new teams are composed of very young players.

In parallel to make it very professional, the confederation of football of africa is training local coaches who will then after passing their exams receive the licence C which is internationally recognised. After a few years we should then have coaches with licence B and A.

Licence C is training young player of age 13-15
Lincence B is for training the juniors
Licence A is for training in first division

A guy named Vincent Rogers who has the FFF trust and is somehow affiliated with the Centre technique Francois Blaquard seems to have a big say and important impact on the progress of football in Mauritius.

Kick Off Moris can be seen on the local MBC channel at around 09:15pm on Wednesdays.

By the way, there was also a 3 day workshop recently by the Football college who gave a training on making proper football TV productions by HBS: Host Broadcasting System.

So Eugine, if you are still in the football sector, i hope this might be of useful information to you ? How are things going concerning the world cup ?

I'm really happy to see that there is progress being made in the local football scene. There are many talents here and its good for our youth to have some local competition to look forward to. Hope in future to see some teams play in those many stadiums that we have for once a past era when local football was so BIG!

greetings from the island, dietmar

[Eunice]

Hi Dietmar

I am so honored to be remembered by you and for all the updates

Sorry about my long absence as I was too caught up at work and life in general

Wow that's a lot of development since the last time we chatted. Glad to see football flourishing, especially locally. You must be so proud and happy now

On the other hand, I am pretty sad about the upcoming World Cup as our local telcos have yet to reach an agreement with FIFA for the broadcast. I am still praying very hard for the airings to be confirmed

[Dietmar]

Hi Eunice,

how are you enjoying the world cup ?

I've got some news for you. A local football website has been launched by popular media company over here called "La Sentinelle". Here is the link to the website: FootWorld

Did your local telcos finally reach an agreement ?...