Soccer's a Beach in South Africa!
24 June 2009
Durban is set to host its fourth consecutive Africa qualifying event for the Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup. Nine African countries will compete for two World Cup places at a state-of-the-art beach soccer stadium at New Beach on Durban's Golden Mile from 1 to 5 July.
The sport's world governing body has confirmed the participation of defending champions Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Mauritius, Libya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, and hosts South Africa.
New format
The nine-team entry will necessitate a different format to that used for the first three editions of the Africa qualifier, with the teams divided into three pools. The winners of each pool will advance to the final four automatically, with the best-placed second placed team securing the last place in the semifinal line-up.
The competition in Durban will be the fourth of six international qualifying events for beach soccer's showpiece event, which takes place in Dubai from 16 to 22 November.
Cameroon and Senegal represented Africa at the 2008 Beach Soccer World Cup in Marseilles, France, which was won by Brazil.
World Cup shock
Senegal provided one of the tournaments biggest upsets, beating the fourth-seeded French side in their first match of the tournament.
Durban's reputation as the beach soccer capital of Africa has been cemented by hosting the continental showcase for four successive years.
"We are delighted to be hosting this tournament once again," said Durban's municipal manager, Michael Sutcliffe.
"The facilities that we provide at New Beach are recognised as being world-class, and the tournament gives us a great opportunity to showcase our beautiful beachfront to a massive international audience that will be watching the matches on television."
Toughest pool
South Africa has been drawn in the toughest of the three pools for the Durban qualifier. They'll need to get past Côte d'Ivoire to be assured of a place in the semi-finals.
Joining South Africa and Côte d'Ivoire in Pool A is Morocco, which is making a return to the continental qualifier they last contested in 2006.
The dangerous side from Côte d'Ivoire will field lethal striker Ayemou Bobou, whose 12 goals led all goal scorers at last year's tournament.
Most memorably, Bobou produced a game-changing blitz of four goals in seven minutes to take his team from a two-goal deficit in their third-place playoff match against Egypt into a position to win the bronze medal.
Classy Ivorian goalkeeper Koffi Enam is another key player. He was named the top goalkeeper at last year's tournament.
Pool B
The easier Pool B features defending champions Senegal, with minnows Mozambique and tournament debutants Libya.
Pool C will be far tighter, as it is made up of the experienced Nigerian team, which enjoys massive support in Durban, last year's semi-finalists Egypt, and Mauritius.
Last year's beaten finalists, Cameroon, are mysteriously absent from the draw, as are the newcomers to the discipline from the Cape Verde Islands.
SA vs Côte d'Ivoire
"The match against Côte d'Ivoire will be a crucial one for South Africa, that's for sure", said Mark Williams, Africa's only Fifa-accredited beach soccer coach, who starred as player-coach for the South African beach soccer side in 2006 and 2007.
"But having said that, this might just be the easiest way for South Africa to make it to the semifinals," he added.
"Looking at the other two pools, we will have to watch how Nigeria and Egypt do, because that is where the competition for the best second-placed team will come from."
THE DRAW
Group AA1 South Africa
A2 Côte d'Ivoire
A3 Morocco
B1 Senegal
B2 Mozambique
B3 Lybia
C1 Nigeria
C2 Egypt
C3 Mauritius
SAinfo reporter
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