Officials of the International Teqball Federation said that the international governing body of the game is seeking to further promote the sport in Africa, as they expressed their satisfaction with the inclusion of teqball in the official programme of the African Beach Games Hammamet 2023. Teqball was one of the demonstration games at the first edition of the African Beach Games in Cape Verde. This sport is still spreading and its future is promising on the African continent, where there are now 45 federations of this discipline, Secretary General of the International Teqball Federation (FITEQ), László Vajda, said at a press conference held in Hammamet on Saturday evening. He added that FITEQ would like to support African national federations by providing the necessary facilities and equipment to practise the sport and encourage young people to play it, in addition to training coaches and referees. Vajda said the federation was supporting the African Teqball Federation in its bid to launch a continental competition in the discipline now that it has been included in the African Beach Games programme. An official of the African Teqball Confederation said that the African body hopes to organise an African championship like in the rest of the sports disciplines. He added that Africa has champions in teqball who are capable of shining internationally. He noted that teqball, which is largely based on football skills, is likely to attract more talent on the African continent. It should be noted that there is a Teqball association in Tunisia, which is trying to organise itself into a sports federation similar to the other federations, working to spread the game, as there are currently around 10 associations with around 100 players. Commenting on Tunisia's participation, Yassine Sahli said that he would be among the medal contenders in the individual competition at the African Games (Hammamet 2023) and would try to win a gold medal in the doubles event. He added that the Tunisian players have the necessary qualifications to raise the Tunisian colours in this competition, which will be held in front of a Tunisian audience in Hammamet. The African Teqball Confederation has 43 national federations and 34 athletes are taking part in the event, which is being held at the Hammamet Beach Games. Competitions are held in individual men's, women's and mixed events. Twelve African teams are taking part in the Hammamet Beach Games: Algeria, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Ghana, Madagascar, Nigeria, Mali, Sierra Leone, Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, Tunisia, Nigeria and Zambia. Representatives of the game in Africa and Tunisia were present at the conference.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse