Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations

Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations

Organising body	CAF
Founded	2006;17 years ago (2006)
Region	Africa
Number of teams	8 (finals) Nº in qualifiers varies
Qualifier for	FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
Current champions	Senegal (7th title)
Most successful team(s)	Senegal (7 titles)
Website	cafonline.com
2022 Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations

The Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations (BSAFCON) is the main championship for beach soccer in Africa, ^[1] contested between senior men's national teams who are members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). ^[2] It is the sport's version of the better known Africa Cup of Nations in association football.

The winners of the championship are crowned continental champions; ^[3] the tournament also acts as the qualification route for African nations to the upcoming edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. ^[2] Coinciding with the annual staging of the World Cup, the competition took place yearly until 2009; the World Cup then became biennial, and as its supplementary qualification event, the championship followed suit.

The championship was established in 2006 when FIFA made it a requirement for all confederations to begin holding qualification tournaments to determine the best national team(s) in their region and hence those who would proceed to represent their continent in the upcoming World Cup (previously, nations were simply invited to play without having to earn their place). ^[4] FIFA currently allocate Africa two berths at the World Cup ^[5] and hence the top two teams (the winners and the runners-up) qualify to the World Cup finals. ^[6]

Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) originally organised the competition ^[7] under the title FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup CAF qualifier ^[8] (also known informally as the CAF Beach Soccer Championship). ^[9] Despite historically having minimal input (often only sending delegates), ^[10] CAF became lead organisers in 2015, ^[11] establishing a qualification phase to determine the elite eight nations to compete in the tournament finals. CAF also began using the BSAFCON title to which the competition was officially renamed for the next edition, ^[12] scheduled for 2017. However, CAF later announced that since three of its competitions were already held in odd-numbered years, the tournament would now be held in even-numbered years henceforth to desaturate the calendar, starting with 2016. ^[13]

Senegal are the most successful nation having won the event seven times and are also the current champions. In terms of success in qualifying to the World Cup, again Senegal are the most outstanding nation, having qualified in nine out of eleven attempts; Nigeria follow close behind, with six qualifications. Mozambique had its debut in 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

Results

For all tournaments, the top two teams qualified for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

Year	Location		Final				Third place play-off
			Champions	Score	Runners-up		Third place	Score	Fourth place
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup CAF qualifier (CAF Beach Soccer Championship)
2006 details	Durban, South Africa		Cameroon	5–3	Nigeria		Egypt	8–3	Ivory Coast
2007 details	Durban, South Africa		Nigeria	6–5	Senegal		Ivory Coast	2–0	South Africa
2008 details	Durban, South Africa		Senegal	12–6	Cameroon		Ivory Coast	6–3	Egypt
2009 details	Durban, South Africa		Nigeria	7–4	Ivory Coast		Senegal	6–4	Egypt
2011 details	Casablanca, Morocco		Senegal	7–4	Nigeria		Egypt	4–4 ( a.e.t. ) (1–0 p.)	Madagascar
2013 details	El Jadida, Morocco		Senegal	4–1	Ivory Coast		Morocco	7–2	Nigeria
Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations
2015 details	Roche Caiman, Seychelles		Madagascar	1–1 ( a.e.t. ) (2–1 p.)	Senegal		Nigeria	9–1	Ivory Coast
2016 details	Lagos, Nigeria		Senegal	8–4	Nigeria		Egypt	4–1	Morocco
2018 details	Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt		Senegal	6–1	Nigeria		Egypt	3–2	Morocco
2021 [lower-alpha 1] details	Saly, Senegal		Senegal	4–1	Mozambique		Morocco	5–3	Uganda
2022 details	Vilankulo, Mozambique [14]		Senegal	2–2 ( a.e.t. ) (6–5 p.)	Egypt		Morocco	6–4	Mozambique
2024 details	TBA, Egypt [15]

1. Originally scheduled for 2020. Delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Performance

Successful nations

Team	Titles	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place		Total top 4
Senegal	7 (2008, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2021*, 2022)	2 (2007, 2015)	1 (2009)	–		10
Nigeria	2 (2007, 2009)	4 (2006, 2011, 2016*, 2018)	1 (2015)	1 (2013)		8
Cameroon	1 (2006)	1 (2008)	–	–		2
Madagascar	1 (2015)	–	–	1 (2011)		2
Ivory Coast	–	2 (2009, 2013)	2 (2007, 2008)	2 (2006, 2015)		6
Egypt	–	1 (2022)	4 (2006, 2011, 2016, 2018*)	2 (2008, 2009)		7
Mozambique	–	1 (2021*)	–	1 (2022)		2
Morocco	–	–	3 (2013*, 2021, 2022)	2 (2016, 2018)		5
Uganda	–	–	–	1 (2021)		1
South Africa	–	–	–	1 (2007*)		1

* Hosts

Awards

Year	Top goalscorer(s)	Gls	Best player	Best goalkeeper	Ref.
2006	Gabriel Agu Mark Williams	9	Frédéric Aka	Pascal Mbeyo
2007	Isiaka Olawale Gabriel Agu	14	Frédéric Aka	Al Seyni Ndiaye
2008	Stephane Bobou	12	Pape Koukpaki	Kevin Enam
2009	Isiaka Olawale	14	Isiaka Olawale	Kevin Enam
2011	Babacar Fall Pape Koukpaki	8	Isiaka Olawale	Al Seyni Ndiaye
2013	Abu Azeez	12	Nassim El Hadaoui	Al Seyni Ndiaye
2015	Alexander Adjei	15	Toky Randriamampandry	Jhorialy Rafalimanana
2016	Babacar Fall	11	Emeka Ogbonna	Al Seyni Ndiaye
2018	Assouan Kablan	10	Abu Azeez	Al Seyni Ndiaye
2021	Nelson Manuel	10	Nelson Manuel	Al Seyni Ndiaye

All-time table

As of 2021

Pos	Team	App	Pld	W	W+	WP	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Win %
1	Senegal	9	42	32	1	2	7	246	135	+111	100	2.38	83.3
2	Nigeria	9	40	24	2	1	13	237	169	+68	77	1.93	67.5
3	Egypt	10	43	20	1	2	20	205	167	+38	64	1.49	53.5
4	Ivory Coast	9	40	16	1	4	19	180	185	–5	54	1.35	52.5
5	Morocco	8	34	17	0	0	17	143	130	+13	51	1.5	50
6	Madagascar	5	22	9	2	2	9	109	93	+16	33	1.5	59.1
7	Cameroon	3	12	6	0	1	5	55	55	0	19	1.58	58.3
8	Mozambique	4	14	5	0	1	8	48	75	–27	16	1.14	42.9
9	South Africa	5	15	4	0	0	11	60	65	–5	12	0.8	26.7
10	Ghana	3	12	2	0	0	10	48	76	–28	6	0.5	16.7
11	Cape Verde	2	7	1	0	1	5	22	46	–24	4	0.57	28.6
12	Algeria	1	3	1	0	0	2	14	19	–5	3	1	33.3
13	Uganda	1	4	1	0	0	3	11	19	–8	3	0.75	25
14	Libya	5	16	1	0	0	15	63	109	–46	3	0.19	6.3
15	Tanzania	2	8	0	1	0	7	20	42	–22	2	0.25	12.5
16	Mauritius	1	2	0	0	0	2	3	23	–20	0	0	0
17	Seychelles	2	8	0	0	0	8	12	58	–46	0	0	0

Key: Appearances App / Won in normal time W = 3 points / Won in extra-time W+ = 2 points / Won on penalty shoot-out WP = 1 point / Lost L = 0 points / Points per game PPG

Appearances & performance timeline

The following is a performance timeline of the teams who have appeared in the Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations and how many appearances they each have made.

Additionally, eight teams have entered the qualification round at least once since its introduction in 2015 without having yet qualified for the finals, nor having participated in the tournament before 2015 when entry was automatic which are: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Sudan and Tunisia. A further team, DR Congo, qualified for the 2021 tournament but withdrew before the finals began.

Legend

1st – Champions 2nd – Runners-up 3rd – Third place 4th – Fourth place 5th–9th – Fifth to ninth place [a] R1 – Round 1 (group stage) × – Did not enter

×× – Entered qualifying but withdrew • – Did not qualify •• – Qualified but withdrew q – Qualified for upcoming tournament    – Hosts (qualify automatically) Apps – No. of appearances

a. ^ In some years, teams knocked-out at round 1 played no further matches (these results are marked as R1).
In other years, classification matches were then played to determine all final placements.

Timeline

Entry requirements:

• 2006–2013: Automatic entry for all teams.
• Since 2015: Eight teams qualify through the qualification round.

Year Team	2006 (6)	2007 (8)	2008 (8)	2009 (9)	2011 (9)	2013 (8)	2015 (8)	2016 (8)	2018 (8)	2021 (7)	2022 (8)		Apps ⁄11
Algeria	×	×	×	×	6th	×	×	×	×	×	×		1
Cameroon	1st	R1	2nd	×	×	×	××	×	×	×	•		3
Cape Verde	×	6th	R1	×	×	×	×	•	×	×	×		2
Egypt	3rd	5th	4th	4th	3rd	R1	6th	3rd	3rd	5th	q		11
Ghana	×	×	×	×	×	R1	7th	7th	×	××	•		3
Ivory Coast	4th	3rd	3rd	2nd	7th	2nd	4th	6th	6th	××	•		9
Libya	×	×	×	R1	8th	R1	××	8th	8th	××	××		5
Madagascar	×	×	×	×	4th	R1	1st	5th	5th	××	q		6
Malawi	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	q		1
Mauritius	×	×	×	R1	×	×	•	×	×	×	×		1
Morocco	6th	×	×	5th	5th	3rd	5th	4th	4th	3rd	3rd		9
Mozambique	×	R1	R1	6th	×	×	•	•	•	2nd	q		5
Nigeria	2nd	1st	R1	1st	2nd	4th	3rd	2nd	2nd	×	q		10
Senegal	×	2nd	1st	3rd	1st	1st	2nd	1st	1st	1st	q		10
Seychelles	×	×	×	×	×	×	8th	×	×	7th	•		2
South Africa	5th	4th	R1	R1	9th	×	•	×	××	×	×		5
Tanzania	×	×	×	×	×	×	•	•	7th	6th	•		2
Uganda	×	×	×	×	×	×	•	××	•	4th	q		2

Performance of qualifiers at the World Cup

Main article: FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup records and statistics

The following is a performance timeline of the CAF teams who appeared in the Beach Soccer World Cup since being sanctioned by FIFA in 2005.

Legend

1st – Champions 2nd – Runners-up 3rd – Third place 4th – Fourth place    – Hosts

QF – Quarter-finals R1 – Round 1 (group stage) q – Qualified for upcoming tournament Total – Total times qualified for World Cup

Team \ Years	2005 [†]	2006	2007	2008	2009	2011	2013	2015	2017	2019	2021	2023	2025	Total
Cameroon		R1		R1										2
Côte d'Ivoire					R1		R1							2
Egypt												Q		1
Madagascar								R1						1
Mozambique											R1			1
Nigeria		R1	QF		R1	QF			R1	R1				6
Senegal			QF	R1		QF	R1	R1	QF	QF	4th	Q		9
Seychelles													Q	1
South Africa	R1													1
Total number of unique qualifiers														9

Notes

1. ^
   In 2005, no CAF qualifiers for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup were held and South Africa were selected to represent CAF.

References

1. "Four countries lead formation of West Africa Beach Soccer Union". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 17 December 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
2. "Regulations of the African Beach Soccer Championship" (PDF). Confédération Africaine de Football. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
3. "Senegal crowned AFCON champions". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
4. "FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2006 qualifiers to start in Brazil on 5 March". FIFA. 3 March 2006. Archived from the original on 13 May 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
5. "World Cup gets bigger". FIFA. 25 August 2005. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
6. "Glossary / Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations". lechicfootafrique.com. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
7. "Regulations FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Rio de Janeiro 2006" (PDF). fifa.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 7, 2007. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
8. Gaich, Rémi (11 January 2016). BSWW competitions / National teams. Barcelona: Beach Soccer Worldwide. pp. 14, 15, 19.
9. "Senegal claim African crown". FIFA. 1 April 2008. Archived from the original on August 19, 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
10. "CAF BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS BEGIN IN MOROCCO". CAF. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
11. "CAF COMPETITIONS / 13. African Beach Soccer Championship". CAF. Archived from the original on 2015-02-15. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
12. "CAF renames six competitions". Daily Post (Nigeria). 11 August 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
13. "Nigeria to host 2016 Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations". Goal. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
14. "CAN-2022 de futebol de praia é uma oportunidade para o País expor as suas potencialidades turísticas". Yassin Amuji (in Portuguese). 20 May 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
15. Gamal Ali, Ahmad (4 July 2022). "OFFICIAL: Egypt host 2024 CAF Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations". KingFut. Retrieved 2 August 2022.

External links

• Confederation of African Football, official website.
• Beach Soccer Worldwide, official website.