The stage is now set for the First Mediterranean Futsal Cup to be played November 1-19 in Libya and with the hosts, currently ranked 19th in the world after their showing at the Grand Prix in Brazil, firmly tipped by their opponents to emerge as champions in a tournament that has the participation of 16 national teams.

Libya, will be up against the likes of Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in a bid to lift the cup. With the tournament all set to begin, many believe that it will be tough to stop the African and Arab Champions on home soil.

Libya, drawn in Group A along with Greece, Syria and Morocco, kick off the tournament Monday with a amatch at the 23rd Sptember Hall in Tripoli against Syria.

The full draw, made at Hotel Rixos grouped the 16 participating teams thus:
GROUP A: Libya, Greece, Syria, Morocco
GROUP B: Slovenia, France, Albania, Algeria
GROUP C: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cyprus, Malta, Tunisia
GROUP D: Croatia, Turkey, Palestine, Lebanon

Neighbours Tunisia’s delegate at the draw said it was a very good draw for his country for the first round, but added: that, “in the second round if we qualify we are going to be facing Libya, which is going to be very tough for us”. When asked who he thought would win the competition he gave a one word answer, “Libya”.

Several other representatives echoed this theme with Morocco citing other teams to win the competition ahead of the hosts. “Morocco is going to win Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia in the top 5”. He did go on to say, “No problem with the draw, I am happy and the results and the scores are not important.”

The chairman of North African Futsal Union Mr. Al-Saadi Abdel Salem has invested a lot of time and effort into developing the talent that Libya now has to offer and is looking forward to an exciting event - the biggest ever futsal tournament to be held on African soil.

So now it’s all eyes on Libya to show that they can continue to be a major player in world futsal, both as a team competing and a federation organising events.

The first Mediterranean Futsal Cup is shaping up to be a fantastic event with games played at the 23rd September Hall and the African Union Hall.

Round 1 Fixtures:

November 1: 23rd September Hall
Libya v Syria

November 2: 23rd September Hall
Croatia v Palestine
Bosnia Herzegovina v Malta
Slovenia v Albania

African Union Hall
Turkey - Lebanon
Cyprus - Tunisia
France - Algeria
Greece - Morocco

November 3: 23rd September Hall
Croatia v Lebanon
Bosnia Herzegovina v Tunisia
Slovenia v Algeria
Libya v Morocco

African Union Hall
Turkey v Palestine
Cyprus v Malta
France v Albania
Greece - Syria

November 5: 23rd September Hall
Turkey v Croatia -
Cyprus v Bosnia and Herzegovina
France v Slovenia
Greece v Libya

African Union Hall
Lebanon v Palestine
Tunisia v Malta
Algeria v Albania-
Morocco v Syria