Teams from Mozambique and Morocco, both benefiting from the Volleyball Empowerment program, delivered strong performances at the CAVB 2025 Beach Volleyball Continental Under 21 Championships. The event was held on Martil beach in Tetouan from June 27 to 29.
Crucially, both Mozambique and Morocco successfully qualified their men’s and women’s teams for the upcoming FIVB Beach Volleyball Under 21 World Championships. This prestigious event is scheduled to take place in Puebla, Mexico, from October 16 to 19 later this year.
Mozambique celebrated significant success with their women`s team, comprised of Nadia Bango and Veronica Roque, securing the gold medal. The Mozambican men`s team, Ednilson Jose Tivane and Helton Guvo, earned the silver medal, finishing just behind champions Namibia.
Morocco also had notable results. Their women`s pair, Imane Fakhr and Fatimazahra Bouysfi, finished fourth in their competition, while the men`s duo, Abdellatif and Ilyass, secured fifth place.
As per the tournament rules, the top five teams in both the men`s and women`s categories from this championship will represent the African continent at the FIVB Beach Volleyball Under 21 World Championships in Puebla, Mexico, scheduled for October 16-19.
The coaching structure behind Mozambique`s success involves Osvaldo Machava and Bernardo Alirio, who manage the U21 men`s and women`s teams. Their support is part of the Volleyball Empowerment program through a Coach Support project valued at 445,000 USD.
Morocco`s teams, including their senior and U21 squads, are coached by Italian expert Ezio Goia. His role is also supported by a Coach Support project under the Volleyball Empowerment program, totaling 364,000 USD.
In the women`s final match, Nadia and Veronica of Mozambique achieved a straight-sets victory over Egypt’s Mariam Saleh and Rawan Abdelmagid, with scores of 21-16 and 21-16, to claim the gold medal.
The bronze medal in the women`s tournament was won by Senegal`s Thiam Dieynaba and Ndior Diouma, who defeated Morocco’s Imane and Fatimazahra 2-0 (21-16, 21-19) in the third-place playoff.
Egypt’s Mariam Abdellatif and Marwa Saleh secured the final African qualification spot for the World Championships by winning their fifth-place playoff against Nigeria’s Lawrence Blessing and Anebi Blessing 2-0 (21-16, 21-19).
In the men`s final, the gold medal went to Namibia`s Krafft brothers, Max and Jura, who defeated Mozambique’s Ednilson and Guvo in straight sets (21-15, 21-17), resulting in the silver medal for the Mozambican team.
Namibia also secured the men`s bronze medal. The third-place playoff match between their team, Luca Kesselmann and Fabian Biederlack, and Egypt’s Mohamed Elkomy and Abdullah Mahfouz, was unfortunately stopped due to an injury sustained by the Egyptian pair.
Morocco’s Abdellatif and Ilyass earned their qualification for the FIVB Beach Volleyball Under 21 World Championships by winning the fifth-place playoff. They overcame Cameroon’s Juan Kevin Mbira Abouem and Adji Abdouraman in a hard-fought three-set match (21-18, 10-21, 15-10).
The competition saw participation from 13 men`s teams representing 8 countries and 11 women`s pairs from 8 nations.
Oliver Wrenwick 
Finley Blackwood