The 2016 Africa Futsal Cup of Nations tournament, which will be hosted in South Africa, is ready for kickoff.
The 2016 Africa Futsal Cup of Nations tournament, which will be hosted in South Africa, is ready for kickoff.
The tournament, held under the auspices of the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) for the men’s national teams, runs from 15 – 24 April 2016.
South Africa opens the tournament with a clash against Mozambique on Friday, 15 April at the Ellis Park Arena in Johannesburg.
Kickoff is at 18h00 and will be preceded by the opening ceremony.
The second match of the day will see Zambia taking on Tunisia at 21h00 at the same venue.
Eight nations will take part in the tournament with the top three finishers representing Africa at the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Colombia from 10 September to 1 October.
The remaining four nations that are in the competition are Angola, Egypt, Libya and Morocco.
South Africa is in Group A alongside Mozambique, Zambia and Tunisia, while Egypt, Libya, Angola and Morocco make up Group B.
Some matches will be played at the Wembley Stadium in Johannesburg.
FACT FILE:
- The Africa Futsal Cup of Nations is organised by CAF
- It was first held in 1996 and is been played every four years
- The 2016 Africa Futsal Cup of Nations will be the 5th edition of the Africa Futsal Cup of Nations
- The tournament acts as the CAF qualifiers for the FIFA Futsal World Cup
- The top three teams of the tournament will qualify for the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Colombia as the CAF representatives
- Futsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller field and mainly played indoors – It can be considered a version of five-a-side football
- It originated in Uruguay in 1930
- Futsal is a game played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is the goalkeeper. Unlimited substitutions are permitted
- Egypt has won the tournament three times in a row – 1996, 2000, 2004 – and also hosted it those years. The other year it was won by Libya (2008) who were also hosting
FIXTURES OF THE AFRICA FUTSAL CUP OF NATIONS, SA 2016
| GROUP A | GROUP B |
| SOUTH AFRICA | EGYPT |
| MOZAMBIQUE | LIBYA |
| ZAMBIA | ANGOLA |
| TUNISIA | MOROCCO |
| DAY 1 – FRIDAY 15 APRIL 2016 | ||
| 1. SOUTH AFRICA vs Mozambique | Ellis Park | 18h00 |
| 2. Zambia vs Tunisia | Ellis Park | 21h00 |
| DAY 2 – SATURDAY 16 APRIL 2016 | ||
| 3. Egypt vs Libya | Ellis Park | 14h00 |
| 4. Angola vs Morocco | Ellis Park | 17h00 |
| DAY 3 – SUNDAY 17 APRIL 2016 | ||
| 5. SOUTH AFRICA vs Zambia | Ellis Park | 14h00 |
| 6. Tunisia vs Mozambique | Ellis Park | 17h00 |
| DAY 4 – MONDAY 18 APRIL 2016 | ||
| 7. Egypt vs Angola | Ellis Park | 18h00 |
| 8. Morocco vs Libya | Ellis Park | 21h00 |
| DAY 5 – TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2016 | ||
| 9. Tunisia vs SOUTH AFRICA | Ellis Park | 18h00 |
| 10. Mozambique vs Zambia | Wembley Arena | 18h00 |
| DAY 6 – WEDNESDAY 20 APRIL 2016 | ||
| 11. Morocco vs Egypt | Ellis Park | 18h00 |
| 12. Libya vs Angola | Wembley Arena | 18h00 |
| *** REST DAY *** | ||
| DAY 8 – FRIDAY 22 APRIL 2016 – SEMI-FINALS | ||
| 13. 1st Group A vs 2nd Group B | Ellis Park | 18h00 |
| 14. 1st Group B vs 2nd Group A | Ellis Park | 21h00 |
| *** REST DAY *** | ||
| DAY 10 – SUNDAY 24 APRIL 2016 – 3rd/4th Place Offs | ||
| 15. LOSER MATCH #13 vs LOSER MATCH #14 | Ellis Park | 14h00 |
| DAY 10 – SUNDAY 24 APRIL 2016 – FINAL | ||
| 16. WINNER MATCH #13 vs WINNER MATCH #14 | Ellis Park | 17h00 |