2024 Africa Futsal Cup of Nations kicks off in Rabat
The 2024 Africa Futsal Cup of Nations hosted by Morocco kicked off this Thursday in the refurbished Salle Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat at a colorful opening ceremony that took place in the presence of President of the Confederation of African Football Patrice Motsepe, head of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation Fouzi Lakjaa, and several personalities and sports figures.
The exciting fast-paced eight nations indoor football competition running April 11 through 21 features the participation of eight futsal clubs. Hosts and defending champions Morocco headline Group A alongside 2020 third placed Angola, Zambia and former runners-up Ghana who will be making their second tournament appearance.
Record winners Egypt are the top seed in Group B which also has two debutants, Namibia and Mauritania, and former champions Libya.
Patrice Motsepe said upon arrival in Rabat on Wednesday to attend the opening of the Futsal African Cup of Nations that thanks to its performances, Morocco is still the pride of Africa.
“We all know how proud Morocco made us and Africa during the Qatar World Cup. I am perfectly sure that Morocco will continue in the same vein to make us even prouder,” said Motsepe.
The CAF chief also thanked the Kingdom for hosting this Futsal AFCON, adding that “there are times when Morocco remains the only country capable of organizing some African competitions.”
He pointed out that several African countries, whose stadiums do not meet the required standards, play their matches in Morocco and recalled that he had visited a stadium in Sao Tomé, built with the contribution of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. In this vein, he expressed thanks to King Mohammed VI for his efforts to promote football in Africa.
The first day of the tournament featured two matches that opposed Ghana to Zambia, and Morocco to Angola.
Zambia won Ghana by 5 to 2 goals, while Morocco beat Angola 5 to 2.
Morocco, which also hosted the previous edition of the CAF Futsal AFCON in 2020, are two-time defending champions.
The stakes of this 2024 edition are very high as the top three teams in the competition will book their tickets for the FIFA Futsal World Cup to be held in Uzbekistan from September 14 to October 6.
