Niger national football team
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | Ménas |
|---|---|
| Association | Fédération Nigerienne de Football |
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) |
| Sub-confederation | WAFU (West Africa) |
| Head coach | François Zahoui |
| Captain | Moussa Maâzou |
| Home stadium | Stade Seyni Kountché |
| FIFA code | NIG |
| FIFA ranking | |
| Current | 132  5 (9 February 2017)
|
| Highest | 68 (November 1994) |
| Lowest | 196 (August 2002) |
| Elo ranking | |
| Current | 121 |
| Highest | 103 (July 1991) |
| Lowest | 146 (December 1980) |
| First international | |
 Niger 2–2 Chad  (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 25 December 1961) |
|
| Biggest win | |
Niger 7–1 Mauritania  (Niamey, Niger; 12 October 1990) |
|
| Biggest defeat | |
 Congo 10–0 Niger (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 27 December 1961) |
|
| Africa Cup of Nations | |
| Appearances | 2 (first in 2012) |
| Best result | Group stage, 2012 and 2013 |
The Niger national football team, nicknamed the Menas, represents Niger in international association football through the Fédération Nigerienne de Football (FNFB), a member of Confederation of African Football (CAF). Niger plays in the colors of the flag of Niger, white, green and orange. Their nickname comes from the Dama Gazelle, native to Niger, the Hausa name of which is Meyna or Ménas The Dama appears on their badge in the colors of the national flag.
Although one of the weaker sides in the strong West Africa region, Niger has produced a couple of noteworthy runs in qualifying tournaments.
One of their best performances was in the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in which Niger eliminated Somalia and Togo on the away goals rule, but were beaten by Algeria in the third round where only eight teams were left. Notable players in this run included Jacques Komlan, Hassane Adamou and Moussa Kanfideni.
In 1990, they set a record by thrashing Mauritania 7–1 in continental qualifiers, the highest positive score margin for the Mena.
In the 2004 African Nations Cup qualifiers, Niger won all their home games (including a win over Guinea) to finish on nine points, just three short of qualification.
The Niger squad is also plagued by financial concerns, which have caused them to withdraw from international tournaments on more than one occasion. The Fédération Nigerienne de Football (FNFB) would have turned to fundraising to pay for their trip to the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola, had they qualified.
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