The 2023 African Beach Games will be held in Hammamet, Tunisia, from June 23 to June 30, with the beach handball competitions stage 2 of the 2023 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour taking place at the same location from 24 to 26 June.
The draw for the men’s and women’s beach handball competitions at the second edition of the African Beach Games took place on Monday (5 June) at the headquarters of the African Handball Confederation (CAHB) in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
In the men’s competition, nine teams were divided into three groups based on their most recent results. As hosts, Tunisia had the right to pick which group they would show up in. A single round-robin group will feature five women’s teams competing.
“The preparation for the Games is going very well,” said Kamel Borgi, President of the Tunisian Beach Handball League, Member of the African Beach Games Organisation Committee, and President of the African Handball Confederation (CAHB) Beach Handball Working Group, to ihf.info.
“The organising committee has accelerated the pace of preparations, with all the commissions working hard to succeed in their missions. By the end of this week, we will start setting up the site after it has been cleaned.”
Draw result:
The men’s competition will feature 11 games in all. On day one (Saturday, June 24), Morocco will play Kenya, Togo will play Nigeria, and the title-holders and hosts, Tunisia, will play Algeria in the morning and early afternoon. In the late afternoon and evening, Kenya will play Zambia, Nigeria will play Libya, and Algeria will play Mali.
On Sunday, June 25, the second day will begin with Zambia facing Morocco, then Libya will face Togo, and Mali will face Tunisia in the morning and early afternoon, concluding the preliminary group action.
The best runner-up, along with the top three teams in each group, will advance to the semi-finals on the same day, in the late afternoon. On the final day of competition, Monday, June 26, the 7/8 and 5/6 placement matches will take place in the early session, followed by medal matches in the late afternoon, and the final will take place at 17:30 (local time).
Khalid El Moufakir, the national team’s beach handball coach for the Royal Moroccan Handball Federation, said about their group A draw, “Kenya and Zambia are two countries that have a certain tradition in handball, but their specific experience in beach handball may vary, because beach handball in Africa is still fresh from birth.”
“Our expectations may vary depending on various factors such as players’ physical condition, experience in beach handball, and specific preparation for this event, however, competitive and exciting matches can be expected.”
Morocco’s men won bronze at the first edition of the African Beach Games, which took place in Cape Verde in 2019, and El Moufakir hopes to win more medals in 2023.
“Our first objective is to improve the ranking and to progress while aiming for gold or silver,” he said. “But that does not prevent us from working on the development of skills because it could be useful to review previous matches to identify areas of improvement on the individual technical level of my players. In addition, on the collective level, tactics, and systems of play and the last performance can inspire other athletes and help promote beach handball in Morocco.”
In the women’s competition, there will be a total of 10 games played in a round-robin format. The team that finishes first in all of the games wins the title. On the first day, which is June 24, four games will be played, four on the second day, which is June 25, and two on the final morning, which is June 26. Tunisia, the titleholder, begins their campaign against Uganda before taking on Mali, Algeria, and Kenya.
After the draw, Tunisia’s women’s captain Manel Mrad said, “Our number one expectation remains final victory – we are not arriving in unknown territory with some of our adversaries.”
“Algeria are a well-known and tough adversary with technical quality; against Kenya the challenge will be physical and we will have to know how to respond to it. Mali is an opponent a little below and less known, but above all not to be underestimated, while there is very little information on this Ugandan team, which seems very young (starting in May 2023) and less experienced, it is very pleasant to meet new teams on the international circuit – it will be challenging and interesting.
“Arriving as defending champion adds additional pressure to us and motivates our opponents to perform against us,” she added. “However, it is up to us to confirm and transform this pressure into something positive and therefore into motivation.”
The men’s and women’s title winners will automatically qualify for the August 2023 ANOC World Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia.
The men’s and women’s beach handball competitions at the 1st ANOCA African Beach Games, which took place in Cape Verde in 2019, were both won by Tunisia.
The African Beach Games, also known as the ANOCA (Association of National Olympic Councils of Africa), are a sand-based multisport competition open to athletes from all 54 National Olympic Committees of Africa.
The ANOCA African Beach Games in 2023 will take place in Hammamet, Tunisia, from June 23 to June 30.
There will be competition from 53 countries in 30 events across 16 disciplines, including two demonstration events, including men’s and women’s beach handball.
42 nations participated in the first edition of the ANOCA African Beach Games, which were held in Sal, Cape Verde, in 2019.
The 2023 edition is expected to have over 1,100 athletes, 500 officials, 300 volunteers, and staff and technicians who will accompany them.
The opening ceremony will take place on Olympic Day, which will be celebrated by all African National Olympic Committees on June 23. The day before, ANOCA will hold its annual General Assembly.
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