At Marcel Cabon Government School, a primary school of the Educational Priority Areas (ZEP) located at Cité La Cure in the suburbs of the capital-city, Port Louis, all the students - boys and girls alike - love football and play every day on the school’s football pitch.

Around 30 players (EU male and female staff, boy and girl students as well as teaching and non-teaching staff) took part in  three mini-football matches (15 minutes each) in front of a hundred of young supporters.

The EU Ambassador played two matches and scored two goals.

The matches were preceded by a ceremony for the donation of 100 footballs to the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology. The footballs will be distributed in 30 the ZEP schools in Mauritius, Rodrigues and Agalega. The Acting Director of Primary Schooling from the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, the Head Master, administrative staff and teachers as well as students from Marcel Cabon Government School, the Ambassador and members of staff of the Delegation participated in the ceremony.  After the donation of the footballs, a group of 10 students delivered a beautiful song performance. To greet the EU Ambassador who is Austrian, students had done a colourful poster displaying ‘Willkommen’. The mood was festive on that day.

Addressing students, the Ambassador said : “Sport is very important for your physical health but also for your mind. Sport, along with a good diet, helps prevent diseases such as diabetes or heart disease. Sport is also a way to move forward in life. For example, I think of Kylian Mbappé, the football player for the France team who grew up in a disadvantaged city, not very far from Paris. Today he is a great football player, known throughout the world. I encourage you to play sports but also to study so that you can realize your dreams.”

The event was organised with the valuable support of the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology in particular Mr Parmessa, Assistant Director E-Education, Secretary of National Examinations Board and his team.