Cairo, Egypt, December 13, 2015- Congo Brazzaville is now getting ready to host the historic 2016 Men's African Qualification tournament for Rio de Janeiro which will feature a record of participating countries.
The qualifiers will be hosted in Brazzaville January 7 to 14, 2016 in presence of 23 countries competing for the African slot at the 2016 Olympics, while the runner up and third placed teams will have other opportunities throughout the World Olympic qualifiers.
At the top of the list of participants comes Tunisia who qualified to the last Olympics in London 2012. Tunisia carries the record of qualification to the Sports prestigious event with 6 times at the Olympics 1972 (Munich), 1984 (Los Angeles), 1988 (Seoul), 1996 (Atlanta), 2004 (Athens) and 2012 (London). Beijing
With a star studded team, Egypt wants to continue their successful run in the last 10 years during which they grabbed the African Nations Championship's title for 6 consecutive times. They also want to revenge their defeat against their compatriots Tunisia in the last qualifiers in Cameroon 2012. Egypt qualified to the Olympic Games in 3 occasions: 1984 (Los Angeles), 2000 (Sydney) and 2008 (Beijing).
With a promising team, Algeria dream to qualify to the Olympic after 26 y of absence since their last qualification in Barcelona 1992 which is the only time they existed in the quadrennial event. The team comprising of youngsters won early this year the gold medal at the 2015 All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville.
All Africa Games big surprise Congo Brazzaville who stood for the first time in the silver medal podium come as a new force aiming for the first qualification for the Olympics.
The registered teams for the Olympic qualifier are Algeria, Tunisia, Gambia, Cape Verde, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Ghana, Central Africa Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Congo RDC, Cameroon, Gabon, Kenya, Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Madagascar and Senegal
History of African qualifiers for Olympic Games
- Tunisia : 6 times: 1972 (Munich), 1984 (Los Angeles), 1988 (Seoul), 1996 (Atlanta), 2004 (Athens), 2012 (London).
- Egypt : 3 times : 1984 (Los Angeles), 2000 (Sydney), 2008 (Beijing).
- Algeria : 1 time : 1992 (Barcelona).
- Libya : 1 time : 1980 (Moscow).
Best Regards
TAREK AL-ADWAR
CAVB PRESS OFFICER
CAVB web site www.cavb.org