Chronicle Editor
Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE will be a notable absentee when top African nations battle it out for three Fifa Futsal World Cup slots at the sixth edition of the Africa championships to be held in Laayoun, Morocco.
The continental showpiece kicks off on Tuesday, January 28, with the final set for February 7.
Eight countries have been drawn into two groups, with the host nation Morocco out to retain the title facing off with Libya, Equatorial Guinea and debutantes Mauritius in Group A. Group B has record three-time champions Egypt, Guinea, Angola and Mozambique.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals. Semi-final winners and third-place winners qualify for 2020 Fifa Futsal World Cup. The qualifying three African teams will make up the 24 countries at the World Cup.
The top three will represent Africa at the 2020 Fifa Futsal World Cup from September 12 to October 4 in Lithuania.
“We are delighted as a country to be hosting this event. We believe because of our readiness and existing facilities Caf has seen it fit for us to once again play host to one of their prestigious tournaments where the top three coming from this tournament will head to the World Cup in Lithuania later this year,” read a Morocco Royal Football Federation statement.
Egypt who last won the tournament in 2004 are the most successful team in Afcon history with three titles. However, in the previous edition Morocco emerged 3-2 winners after a tightly contested match and will be hoping to retain the trophy on home soil.
Futsal is a variant of association football played on a hard court, smaller than a football pitch and mainly indoors.
It has similarities to five-a-side football. Zimbabwe participated once in 1996 and they finished in fourth place.
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