The Indian Ocean Island Games
If you have followed this page for articles or the podcast for the narrative stories then you have more than likely heard of the Island Games, the biennial international multi-sports event. Tiny island nations such as Jersey, Bermuda, Shetland and the Isle of Wight all compete to be named champion.
In a similar vein to the Island Games there is the Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG), just like the Island Games the IOIG consists of island nations that come together to compete in an array of different sports with one eventually crowned champion. Dissimilar to the Island Games though is that the IOIG occur every four years instead of every two.
The games were created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1976. The competing nations and territories consist of Mauritius, Comoros, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mayotte, Réunion and the Maldives. Prior to the current rendition of the IOIG, between 1947 and 1963 the Indian Ocean Games Triangulaire was centre stage. Similar to the IOIG, Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion competed in these games up until 1963. The Triangulaire disbanded in 1963 amidst controversy. In a match between Madagascar and Mauritius the game was abandoned after 54 minutes with the score at 1-1. Madagascar declared themselves the winners as Mauritius refused to play further. Following that day Mauritius declared they would not be entering the competition from then on and from there the Triangulaire games were dissolved.
The reformation of the games in 1976 was initially named the ‘Indian Ocean Games’ with the inclusion of Sri Lanka. Following the departure of Sri Lanka, before the first games began the name was officially changed to the Indian ocean Island Games and has been called so to this day.
Searching through past results it’s clear to see that Réunion are the dominant force within the boundaries of a football pitch. Being crowned champions on five occasions and a further four times as runners up. At the other end of the spectrum, we can see that, besides from the Maldives, who don’t send a football team, Comoros is the worst performing nation finishing at a highest of third on two occasions.
This comes as a surprise, Comoros have come on leaps and bounds in the last few years as a footballing nation and currently sit at 119 in the FIFA rankings, just below Madagascar but much higher than the rest, some of whom are not FIFA affiliated. Comoros competed in the African Cup of Nations in 2021 for the first time, during which they placed defeat upon the Black Stars of Ghana in a historic win. With the new FIFA World Cup format, Comoros is also looking like the underdog that may qualify from the continent.
Why and how are Réunion so successful then? This comes from the island being a French overseas territory. The island has access to resources the rival nations just don’t have. Club football on Réunion is an interesting tale too. The island runs its own league system with a plethora of clubs, but with the club being a French territory, like Mayotte, they also have access to something the other nations simply don’t, the ability to play in the Coupe de France.
Uniquely the Coupe de France is open to all of Frances overseas territories. An overseas team has never won the competition due to obvious reasons but it doesn’t mean they haven’t competed. In this seasons (2024/25) rendition of the Coupe de France a team, AS Dragon, from the territory of Tahiti reached the eighth round of the competition, beating mainlanders along the way. A similar story occurred in 2021, amateur side JS Saint-Pierroise, from Réunion played in the competition and made it as far as the round of 32, beating then Ligue 2 side Niort along the way in mainland France.
Does Réunion, as the most successful football team in the IOIG, produce top quality players? The most famous export from this tiny remote nation is, surprisingly, Dimitri Payet. Payet was born in Saint-Pierre. Clearly a level above his teammates and opponents Le Havre signed Payet into their youth academy but issues with motivation and character had seen Payet back in Réunion with AS Excelsior. This turned into a short term move because Payet was evidently a class above the islanders so he moved back to the mainland with Nantes and the rest of his career speaks for itself.
The next island games will be held 2027 in Comoros, the first time they will be hosting the event. There is a rush to get facilities in place to host the games but Azali Assoumani, the President, stated that progress is being made and if mistakes don’t arise then schedules will be met. The International Olympic Committee will be inspecting the progress of the facilities in 2025.
The IOIG from the outside looks like an idyllic event, beautiful surroundings and a friendly sporting competition. However, in the latest edition (2023), tragedy struck. Hosted in Madagascar, 41,000 people arrived to watch the games in the Mahamasina Stadium. A stampede broke out at one of the entrances fatally killing 12 people and injuring a further 80. Madagascan President, Andry Rajoelina, called for a minute’s silence following the tragic event. Unfortunately, this is not the first-time death has occurred at this stadium. In 2018 one person died with another 40 injured following a similar incident and two years prior to that two people died in the aftermath of a grenade explosion. Another two years before that and another grenade explosion had killed a toddler and injure several others.
A unique competition in the middle of the vast Indian Ocean. One that is often overlooked and unheard of, you can be forgiven for not knowing about the IOIG with very little information being available as the event is not globally covered. A sporting event that brings together island nations and one that brings with it unique stories that are missing from the mainstream of football news. One day though, with Dimitri Payet still an active player, could we see someone, if not himself, of such quality play in the Indian Ocean Island Games? Could Dimitri Payet return to AS Excelsior and then represent Réunion? As football fans it would be remarkable to witness.
Researched and Written by BSc Cavan Campbell
