The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
MADAGASCAR have officially withdrawn from qualifying for the Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for Senegal from May 23 to 30, which means that Seychelles, their opponents in the qualifiers, will now qualify for the final tournament.
In statement released on Wednesday, the Confederation of African Football said the draw for the Beach Soccer Afcon taking place on Thursday.
According to Caf, the first seven qualified teams were already known, with two seeds, Senegal as host of the tournament and Egypt, best ranked team based on the results of the Beach Soccer Afcon, Egypt 2018.
Morocco, DR Congo and Uganda respectively benefited from the withdrawal of Libya, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana from the qualifiers.
Mozambique and Tanzania defeated Comoros and Burundi respectively to secure their tickets for Senegal.
The double header between Madagascar and Seychelles, initially scheduled for May 1 and 8, was to determine the eighth participating team. The cancellation of these two matches brings the qualifying round to a close and propels Seychelles directly towards Senegal.
It will be Seychelles’ second participation in a Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations final tournament after the very first edition that the archipelago hosted in 2015.The Pirates intend to make a better impression during this edition.
Khaled Nassar, head of Caf Competitions is conducting the draw in Cairo, Egypt. He will be assisted by legend Mohamed Fawzy, captain of the Egyptian Beach Soccer team.
The goalkeeper of the Pharaohs has played an important role in the performance of the Egyptians who finished third in the competition they organised on their land in 2018. Fawzy had also participated in the 2015 and 2016 editions of the Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations.
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