Rugby union in Madagascar

Last updated
Rugby union in Madagascar
CountryMadagascar
National team(s) Madagascar
First played1890s
Registered players22,540 [1]
Clubs410
National competitions

Rugby union in Madagascar is a popular team sport. As of September 2018, Madagascar is ranked 50th worldwide by World Rugby (WR), [2] and boasts over 22,540 registered players and more than 410 rugby clubs. [3] Although Madagascar lacks a professional competition, as it is one of the poorest countries in the world, it does possess a national club competition that is extensively covered in the national print media, as well as having matches televised. Rugby is considered the national sport of Madagascar. [4] [5]

Contents

The governing body is the Madagascan Rugby Federation or Fédération Malagasy de Rugby. [1]

History

Rugby union was introduced to Madagascar in the 1890s by French railroad workers who played the game in the capital, Antananarivo, during the colonial period. Historically the sport was seen as a violent pastime of the poor, however recent developments have seen a huge increase in the sport's profile throughout the country. [6] The Madagascar team, locally referred to as the Makis (a Malagasy word for the ring-tailed lemur), reached the finals of the 2005 Africa Cup, increasing nationwide interest in the sport. Since then they have been semi-finalists in the 2006 Africa Cup and finalists again in the 2007 Africa Cup.

Madagascar is a founder member of the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR), which was launched officially in January 1986, in Tunis, Tunisia. Rugby officials from Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Kenya, and the Seychelles also attended.

Competitions

The national club competition is structured along the same lines as the Argentine club championship. The regional unions within Madagascar send their top club(s) from the previous year's championship to compete in the nationwide top-flight league called the Top 8.

The national team also competes annually in the Africa Cup, where matches sometimes double as Confederation of African Rugby Rugby World Cup qualifiers.

Popularity

In addition to large participant numbers, rugby is popular with spectators in Madagascar. The Top 8 has average attendance figures of over 8,000, whilst the league final, and most international fixtures, attract crowds upward of 30,000 at the Stade Municipal de Mahamasina in the capital. It is common that international rugby matches substantially outdraw those of football at the Mahamasina. Rugby's popularity is strongest in the central highlands region including Antananarivo.

Rugby union's popularity in the country was recently demonstrated during the Division 1B Final of the Africa Cup, held in Madagascar. Madagascar triumphed over Namibia in front of 40,000 fans to stay in the qualification process for the 2015 Rugby World Cup to be held in the United Kingdom. [7]

In Madagascar, rugby is a very popular sport among women. It is estimated that 60% of players in the country are women. The girls from Sapphire Coast and their captain Marcelia, backed by the French NGO Terres en Mêlées are emerging as models for the development of women rugby in poor areas outside the capital city. They actually won twice the national girls championship. Rugby is thus becoming a real tool to fight against poverty and develop gender equality in the country. Marcelia has been nominated one of the five most influential women of the country in 2019 by promoting development through rugby in Madagascar and in France.

See also

Related Research Articles

Rugby union Team sport, code of rugby football

Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped goalposts at both ends.

Antananarivo Capital and largest city of Madagascar

Antananarivo, also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra, is the capital of Analamanga region. The city sits at 1,280 m (4,199 ft) above sea level in the center of the island, the highest national capital by elevation among the island countries. It has been the country's largest population center since at least the 18th century. The presidency, National Assembly, Senate and Supreme Court are located there, as are 21 diplomatic missions and the headquarters of many national and international businesses and NGOs. It has more universities, nightclubs, art venues, and medical services than any city on the island. Several national and local sports teams, including the championship-winning national rugby team, the Makis are based here.

Madagascar national football team Mens national association football team representing Madagascar

The Madagascar national football team, nicknamed Barea after the island's zebu, is the national team of Madagascar and is controlled by the Malagasy Football Federation. It has never qualified for the finals of the World Cup. It took part in its first Africa Cup of Nations in 2019. Among its biggest wins was a 1–0 home victory over Egypt in the qualification rounds of the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations until being surpassed by a recent shocking 2–0 win over Nigeria in the group stage of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. Reflecting the official name of the country at the time, the team was known as the Malagasy Republic national football team between 1958 and 1975.

Rugby Africa

Rugby Africa, is the administrative body for rugby union within the continent of Africa under the authority of World Rugby, which is the world governing body of rugby union. As of 2018, Rugby Africa has 37 member nations and runs several rugby tournaments for national teams, including the Africa Cup which is the main 15-a-side competition for African national teams.

Rugby union in Kenya

Rugby union in Kenya is a popular sport, in particular due to the success of the Kenya national rugby sevens team in the rugby sevens format, and tournaments such as the Safari Sevens, which has been growing yearly, and now includes numerous international teams.

Madagascar national rugby union team

The Madagascar national rugby union team represents Madagascar in the sport of rugby union. Although rugby is popular in Madagascar, the country has not yet qualified for a Rugby World Cup. It does compete annually in the Africa Cup, and was runner-up to Uganda in 2007. The national team's nickname is the Malagasy name for the ring-tailed lemur.

AS Adema Malagasy football club

AS ADEMA is a Malagasy football club based in Antananarivo, Madagascar. They have won the THB Champions League championship on three occasions, in 2002, 2006 and 2012. In 2002 they also advanced to the quarterfinals of the CAF Cup before losing to Al-Masry of Egypt.

Rugby union in Ivory Coast

Rugby union in Ivory Coast is essentially amateur, with some degree of semi-professionalization in its top-flight league and the national rugby union team.

Football is, along with Rugby union, one of the most popular sports in the African island nation of Madagascar. The sport is governed in the country by the Malagasy Football Federation.

Faneva Imà Andriatsima Malagasy footballer

Faneva Imà Andriatsima is a Malagasy professional footballer who plays as a forward.

Rugby union in Tunisia is a significant sport. They are currently ranked 39th in the world, with 15830 registered players, and 72 clubs.

Rugby union in Senegal is a moderately popular sport. The Senegal national team is currently ranked 54th by World Rugby.

Sport in Algeria dates back to antiquity. In the Aurès Mountains, people played games such as El Kherdba or El khergueba. Playing cards, checkers and chess games are part of Algerian culture. Horse racing (fantasia) and rifle shooting are among the recreational traditions of Algeria.

Africa Womens Sevens

The Africa Women's Sevens is the continental championship for women's international rugby sevens in Africa. The tournament sanctioned and sponsored by Rugby Africa which is the rugby union governing body for the continent.

The 2012 Africa Cup was the twelfth edition of the Africa Cup, an annual international rugby union tournament for African nations organised by the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR). The tournaments between 2012 and 2014 will also serve as qualifiers for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

The Africa section of 2015 Rugby World Cup qualifying saw thirteen teams competing for one direct qualification spot into the final tournament in England, and one spot in the Repechage play-offs.

The Madagascar women's national football team is the FIFA recognised senior women's A team for Madagascar. The team played their first FIFA matches in 2015. The development of a national team in the country is problematic because of issues found on the continent and on the island, specifically the lack of popularity of women's football as a participation sport in Madagascar.

Rossy (musician) Musical artist

Paul Bert Rahasimanana, better known as Rossy, is a Malagasy singer and songwriter, generally considered the most popular Malagasy artist of the 1990s. Beginning his musical career as an accordionist and singer within a traditional hira gasy musical troupe, Rossy innovated a fusion of hira gasy instrumentation and vocal style with contemporary rock, funk and folk sounds to create a uniquely Malagasy genre of contemporary popular music. Rossy actively promoted former president Didier Ratsiraka through concert performances throughout his presidency and served within the Ministry of Culture to promote artists' rights and copyright law. When Ratsiraka fell into disfavor following the contentious 2001 Malagasy presidential elections, Rossy went into self-imposed exile in France. He returned to the island to give concerts beginning in 2008 and enjoyed enormous popularity despite six years of absence, setting an unbroken record of 35,000 tickets sold for a performance given that year. His compositions and style are frequently associated with the Ratsiraka socialist period and commonly evoke a sense of nostalgia among Malagasy fans.

The 2013 Africa Cup was the thirteenth edition of the Africa Cup, an annual international rugby union tournament for African nations organised by the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR). This tournament, as well as the 2012 and 2014 editions of it, served as the qualifiers for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

The 2014 Africa Cup was the fourteenth edition of the Africa Cup, an annual international rugby union tournament for African nations organised by the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR). The tournament, as well as the 2012 and 2013 editions of it, served as the qualifiers for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

References

  1. 1 2 "International Rugby Board - MADAGASCAR". Irb.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2011-09-26.
  2. "World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  3. Official Madagascar Playing Numbers Archived 2011-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Madagascar take Sevens honours". Archived from the original on 2012-08-29. Retrieved 2012-07-27.
  5. "14-place jump for Madagascar". Archived from the original on 2012-11-18. Retrieved 2012-07-27.
  6. Rugby and the Red Island
  7. "Madagascar climb rankings after shock win". rugbyworldcup.com. 9 July 2012. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2012.