By Vincent Obi
Cairo – The 14 nations eyeing a place at this year’s CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt had their Qualifiers fixtures officially confirmed on Thursday.
This follows the draws conducted for the qualifiers for the competition set to take place in Egypt this year.
A total of 14 nations will be engaged in the qualifiers set to take place over a two-leg format to decide the seven nations that will join tournament hosts, Egypt, in the finals this summer.
The first leg of the qualifiers will take place between 19 and 21 July, with the second and final leg scheduled for 26 – 28 July.
Reigning African champions, Senegal, will kick off the qualifiers against Guinea who are eyeing a first CAF Beach Soccer AFCON appearance.
Angola, who are also looking at qualifying for their first CAF Beach Soccer AFCON competition, take on two-time bronze medallists, Morocco.
Other key encounters on the cards to look out for include a west African duel between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, while Burundi and Malawi will lock horns in an East African battle for qualification.
Seychelles, hosts of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup next year, will be looking at securing a place in Egypt ahead of hosting the global showpiece in Africa for the very first time.
They will be up against hosts of the last CAF Beach Soccer AFCON, Mozambique, who will be a tough mountain to climb for the islanders.
Here are the fixtures for the Qualifiers
First leg (19 – 21 July 2024)
Guinea vs Senegal
Angola vs Morocco
Ghana vs Cote d’Ivoire
Mauritania vs Nigeria
Tanzania vs Uganda
Seychelles vs Mozambique
Burundi vs Malawi
Second leg (26 – 28 July 2024)
Senegal vs Guinea
Morocco vs Angola
Cote d’Ivoire vs Ghana
Nigeria vs Mauritania
Uganda vs Tanzania
Mozambique vs Seychelles
Malawi vs Burundi
CAF will announce the exact fixture dates and times in due course.
