A first. Madagascar is participating in the inaugural edition of the FIFA U15 World Cup & Festival, held from October 22 to 31 in Baku, Azerbaijan. This eight-a-side football competition is taking place at the Hovsan Sports Complex and the Crystal Hall.
One hundred and ninety-one member associations are represented, divided into thirty-two groups of six to seven teams. Madagascar will compete in Group T alongside Mozambique, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Somalia, and Venezuela.
The competition consists of two phases. In the first, each team plays all opponents in its group. This stage, without elimination, allows for the assessment of the participants’ levels. Subsequently, teams will be divided according to their performance into seven groups of thirty-two and will play knockout matches to determine the winner of each group.
The Malagasy delegation, consisting of fourteen players and six staff members, departed on Tuesday. The technical staff is led by Jean Jacques, a coach in charge of talent development. He is assisted by Navalina Joachim Ramilison, who led the Barea to the gold medal during the second edition of the Indian Ocean U15 Festival in Mauritius in 2025.
The federation has also reappointed Yvon Randrianarison, who led the U17 Barea during the training camp and friendly matches in Morocco last year, despite his involvement in an alleged corruption case. “The team’s core is composed of residents from the Carion Academy, selected from the best players of the four development centers under FIFA’s Talent Development Scheme. The only new recruit is a goalkeeper from the Dignitas football school, whose potential impressed the technical staff,” explains National Technical Director Rado Rasoanaivo.
Captured & Published at: 2026-10-22 05:38:34 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/10/mondial-u15-les-barea-en-lice-en.html