Ghana's participation in Beach Soccer AFCON in limbo as camping delays due to 'no funds'

With just over two weeks to kick off the 2024 Beach Soccer Cup of Nations in Egypt, the Black Sharks of Ghana are yet to begin camping for the gruelling sand-based competition.

The Black Sharks were scheduled to commence residential camping in Keta on Sunday, September 29. However, just as players and officials were about to make their way to the proposed team base, they were told that funds for camping were not yet ready.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports, as well as the Ghana Football Association, have remained tight-lipped with no explanation as to why funds have not been released for the beach soccer national team.

This latest setback could seriously affect the chances of the Black Sharks, who are drawn in the group of death alongside East African champions Tanzania, Africa Beach Games gold medalists Morocco, and host nation Egypt.

The competition kicks off on Saturday, October 19, in the Red Sea tourist resort of Hurghada, which is almost 300 kilometers from the Egyptian capital Cairo.

The 2024 AFCON edition is expected to be one of the most fiercely contested competitions due to the participation of the best-performing beach soccer nations over the past few years.

However, the return of Ghana's Black Sharks after almost a decade of absence has not been smooth sailing.

The Ghanaians beat the more experienced Sand Elephants of Ivory Coast (10-5 aggregate) home and away, even though they had to travel almost 18 hours by road from their camping base in Keta to Abidjan.

The "no cash" explanation given as the reason for the delay in preparations appears to be odd since the team qualified for the AFCON tournament over two months ago.

The Beach Soccer AFCON, which also doubles as a World Cup qualifying tournament, will be hotly contested since there are only two slots for Africa at the 2025 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Seychelles.

EK