The Sand Eagles of Nigeria have withdrawn from the 2022 Beach Soccer African Cup of Nations (BSAFCON) scheduled to take place between October 21and 28 in the City of Vilankulo in Mozambique.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced that Nigeria, which is the second most successful team in the BSAFCON with two titles, will not be replaced, leaving Group A with only three teams; hosts Mozambique, Malawi and Morocco.
The Sand Eagles’ withdrawal means that Nigeria, who qualified for the tournament after the withdrawal of Libya from the qualifiers, will not take part in the 2023 World Cup.
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“As per the regulations, if a team withdraws before the start of the competition, the team against which the team in question has played in the qualifiers should be qualified.” a communique from CAF read. “However, since this team is Libya, who have also withdrawn from the qualifiers, group A will consist of three teams only (Mozambique, Malawi and Morocco) and group B which has defending champions Senegal, Uganda, Madagascar and Egypt will not change.”
Reacting to Nigeria’s withdrawal, the coach of Malawi, Willy Kumilambe, said that without the Sand Eagles, the Group would make the group more competitive.
“As for chances of qualifying for the semifinals, it is going to be tough because we are going to be rated after playing two games while the other group will be rated after three games,” He said.
” However, we will work hard and plan well to collect results in the two matches so that we make it to the knockout stages.”