Life’s a beach as Mozambique chosen to host 2022 Beach Soccer Afcon
Mozambique to host 2022 Beach Soccer Afcon
JOHANNESBURG, May 18 (ANA) – The Confederation of African Football (Caf) on Sunday confirmed Mozambique as the host of the 2022 Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
The Southern African nation had been hopeful of winning the right to stage the competition, and has been entrusted by Caf to host its first major continental finals tournament.
It is another boost for the Southern African region in an event that is growing in popularity, with the rescheduled 2020 edition set to start in Saly, Senegal next week.
Mozambique are one of two Southern African nations in that competition along with Seychelles, with the pair drawn into the same first round group that also contains north African sides Egypt and Morocco.
The top two teams in each pool advance to the semi-finals, with hosts Senegal, DR Congo, Tanzania and Uganda in the other group. The two finalists in the competition will qualify for the 2021 Beach Soccer World Cup in Russia.
Mozambique have now made certain they will appear in back-to-back competitions as the 2022 event will see them participate as hosts.
The Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) is planning to host a Beach Soccer tournament in November 2021, with details set to be confirmed shortly.
Caf held an executive committee meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, on Sunday to determine and confirm hosts for the next roster of top showpiece events on the continent.
The executive committee led by Caf president Patrice Mostepe approved Egypt to host the women’s Champions League and also the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in 2023. Algeria, meanwhile, got the nod for the Under-17 Afcon in 2023. – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman