Member Association Focus: Mozambique
Our weekly Member Association focus falls on Mozambique, a member of the Confédération Africaine de Football since 1978.
NATIONAL TEAM
Mozambique secured qualification for a second successive TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations finals appearance in Morocco later this year when they edged Lusophone rivals Guinea-Bissau in their last qualifier away in November.
They are drawn in Group F for the finals and begin their campaign against defending champions Cote d’Ivoire in Marrakech on December 24. Mozambique have played at five previous tournaments but are still to win a game.
Next month they resume their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, when they host Uganda and go away to Algeria. Mozambique share top place in Group G with Algeria on nine points from four matches.
Their women’s team reached the semi-final at the 2024 Cosafa Women’s Championship where they narrowly lost on penalties to hosts South Africa but have not entered the qualifiers for the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026.
CLUBS
Associação Black Bulls competed in the group phase of this season’s TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup but finished bottom of Group D with one win in six games. Their sole win came over former African champions Enyimba of Nigeria in December.
It was the second time the Mozambican club had reached the group stages of the competition after UD Songo in 2018. Ferroviario Beira, who qualified for the group stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League at their first attempt in 2017, competed this season for a second time in the continent’s top club competition, but lost in the first round to Mbabane Swallows from neighbouring Eswatini.
In November, Morocco hosted the CAF Women’s Champions League with AS FAR reaching the final in El Jadida but going down 1-0 to TP Mazembe.
UD Lichinga represented Mozambique in the COSAFA regional qualification competition in Malawi for last year’s TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Champions League, finishing third in their group.
LEADERSHIP
Feizal Sidat was re-elected unanimously for a fourth term as president of the Federação Moçambicana de Futebol in 2023. He served as president for two terms from 2007 to 2015 and then again from 2019.
A former goalkeeper and futsal player, his administrative career began while still studying at the Eduardo Mondlane University between 1978 and 1982.
HISTORY
Mozambican-born players Eusebio and Mario Coluna were among the early African footballing superstars, although their achievements came in the colonial era when the country was still considered part of Portugal.
Eusebio was top scorer when Portugal finished at the 1966 World Cup a year after he had won the Ballon d’Or. He was also a European Cup winner with Benfica in 1962.
Coluna won the European Cup in both 1961 and 62 with the Lisbon giants and captained Portugal at the 1966 World Cup finals. He later served as Mozambican sports minister and also football federation president.