Football is, along with rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

, one of the most popular sports in the African island nation of Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

. The sport is governed in the country by the Fédération Malagasy de Football

Fédération Malagasy de Football

The Fédération Malagasy de Football is the governing body of football in Madagascar. It was founded in 1961, affiliated to FIFA in 1962 and to CAF in 1963. It organizes the national football league and the national team....

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International

Madagascar's national football team

Madagascar national football team

The Madagascar national football team, nicknamed Les Guerriers Zébus , is the national team of Madagascar and is controlled by the Fédération Malagasy de Football. It has never qualified for the finals of the World Cup or the African Nations Cup...

, nicknamed the Barea, has not had great success internationally having never qualified for a FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

 or an African Nations Cup. They have performed well in some minor competitions however, advancing to the semifinals in the COSAFA Cup

COSAFA Cup

The COSAFA Senior Challenge is an annual tournament for teams from Southern Africa organized by COSAFA, inaugurated after the ban against the Republic of South Africa had been lifted and the African Cup of Nations had been staged there in 1996...

 (contested between national teams from Southern Africa) in 2008 and winning the football portion of the Indian Ocean Games

Indian Ocean Games

The men's association football tournament at the Indian Ocean Island Games which is organised every 4 years for the Islands in the Indian Ocean....

 twice. Some of the country's best players have played professionally overseas, mostly in France.

Domestic

Madagascar has an unusual domestic arrangement of leagues. The THB Champions League

THB Champions League

The THB Champions League is premier football league in Madagascar. The competition is played in a round-robin format between the 32 qualifying clubs from the 22 regional leagues in the country. In each of the four rounds, the teams are divided into groups of four teams, with each team playing the...

 is the country's most prestigious club honor, but clubs qualify for it annually from one of the 22 regional leagues, much like in the UEFA Champions League

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

. The Anamalanga Regional League is the most notable of these regional leagues, which includes the capital of Antananarivo

Antananarivo

Antananarivo , formerly Tananarive , is the capital and largest city in Madagascar. It is also known by its French colonial shorthand form Tana....

 and domestic powerhouses like Ajesaia

Ajesaia

Ajesaia is a Malagasy football club based in Antananarivo, Madagascar. The team won the Coupe de Madagascar in 2006, qualifying them for the Super Coupe de Madagascar and the CAF Confederation Cup .The team has a feeder club agreement...

 and AS Adema

AS Adema

AS ADEMA Analamanga is a Malagasy football club based in Ivato, Madagascar near Antananarivo. They have won the THB Champions League championship on two occasions, in 2002 and 2006...

. The country's main cup competition is the Coupe de Madagascar

Coupe de Madagascar

The Coupe de Madagascar is the top knockout tournament in Malagasy football. It was created in 1974.- Winners :*1974: Fortior Club de la Côte Ouest*1975: Fortior Club de la Côte Ouest*1976: Fortior Club de la Côte Ouest*1977: Fortior Club de la Côte Ouest...

, whose winners play the THB Champions League winner in the Super Coupe de Madagascar

Super Coupe de Madagascar

The Super Coupe de Madagascar is a football competition between the winners of the THB Champions League and the Coupe de Madagascar.-List of winners:*1994: AS Cimelta*2006: AS Adema 1-0 Ajesaia*2007: Ajesaia p 1-1 AS Adema...

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