The champions of the world, Brazil and England, were both confirmed to be part of the 2019 Copa Lagos Beach Soccer tournament.
Five-time African champions, Senegal, as well as host Nigeria, will also compete for honors at the Eko Atlantic competition scheduled for 1-3 November in Lagos.
It is known that Brazil, which will make a second appearance at the beach soccer tournament, will participate with its 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup team.
Nigeria will also play at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Paraguay in 2019 and will use this competition to get in shape.
In addition to the participating countries, there will also be a club competition between four teams – the Pepsi Football Academy, the Kebbi Beach Soccer Club, Gidi Sharks and the Sunset Sports Keta from Ghana.
Copa Lagos has been played over the years in December, but organizers say this year’s edition has pushed ahead so that it will not overlap with the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup scheduled for 21 November – 1 December 2019.
“This year, we have taken further steps to broaden the Copa Lagos experience for everyone who attends by enhancing fans engagement as a further contribution to promoting a beach culture and multi-dimensional lifestyle as well as give football-playing fans and Lagosians a taste of playing Copa Lagos,” CEO of Kinetic Sports Sola Aiyepeku told reporters in Lagos.
He said “Copa Lagos has been privileged to have consistent sponsors like FCMB and Pepsi who have supported the brand from the beginning. They have contributed significantly to the development of Copa Lagos into Africa’s number one annual Beach Event.
“This year, we are privileged to add BetKing on-board to further support our dream of improving the quality and service delivery of Copa Lagos,” the Copa Lagos chief executive said.
The Copa Lagos did not hold in 2018 chiefly because of the proximity between the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Beach Soccer African Cup of Nations which took place in Egypt from December 8-14.