Field is still wide open in Africa

The first two preliminary legs to the CAF Beach Soccer Championships 2015 (FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Portugal 2015 – CAF Qualifier Seychelles have officially began

Qualifying for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup is an arduous task that inevitably leaves some great teams on the outside looking in, but the pressure is even greater for the CAF Beach Soccer Championships 2015 (FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Portugal 2015 – CAF Qualifier Seychelles), as the teams are first fighting for a spot in the Qualifier itself, set for the 14^th-19^th of April. Seychelles will host seven other nations, all with the hope of securing a spot in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2015 from the 9^th-19^th of July. 

Nigeria was the first to qualify for the Seychelles event and the remaining teams still battling for one of the six final spots are: Uganda, Ghana, Tanzania, Egypt, Mauritius, Cote d’Ivoire, Madagascar, South Africa, Mali, Senegal, Morocco, and Djibouti. The pre-qualification has a home and away, two leg, format, and the first leg is nearly complete. Madagascar and South Africa will play their matches this upcoming weekend, while Mali and Senegal will face each other twice the following weekend. Morocco and Djibouti will play in a one game playoff, to determine the final spot for Seychelles, on March 29^th. 

The past weekend had some cracking matches that left the three losing teams with more than enough hope to turn things around. Four goals was the largest margin of victory and there was an average of 11 goals per match. The first match was Uganda vs. Ghana, and it had the most goals of any match, with Ghana taking the first leg by a score of 9-6. Ghana will host the final match next weekend. The next match was Tanzania vs. Egypt, and the Egyptians pulled away for a 6-2 victory. The second leg will be played March 22^nd in Egypt. The last match over the weekend was Mauritius vs Cote d’Ivoire, in which the Ivory Coast slipped past the Mauritians with a 6-4 win. The second leg will be in the Ivory Coast next weekend. 

These first rounds have already shown how great African beach soccer is and one reason for holding these intense matches prior to the Qualifier, is that it means the CAF Qualifier will have the best possible product on the pitch for the entire world to see. Only the winner and runner-up in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2015 – CAF Qualifier Seychelles will advance to the World Cup. There will be more news and action in the coming weeks so stay connected at beachsoccer.com, where all your beach soccer resources are located.