Football in Madagascar

Football is, along with rugby union, one of the most popular sports in the African island nation of Madagascar.

[1] Madagascar's national football team, nicknamed the Barea, has not had great success internationally having never qualified for a FIFA World Cup.

[2][3] They have performed well in some minor competitions however, advancing to the semifinals in the COSAFA Cup (contested between national teams from Southern Africa) in 2008 and winning the football portion of the Indian Ocean Games twice.

Madagascar reached the quarterfinals in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, beating teams such as Nigeria and DR Congo .

The country's main cup competition is the Coupe de Madagascar, whose winners play the THB Champions League winner in the Super Coupe de Madagascar.