ALEXANDRIA, Egypt, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Morocco won the men's title while Nigeria claimed the women's crown at the 2026 African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB) Beach Volleyball Continental Championships here on Saturday, with both countries also earning Olympic quota spots for LA28.
Morocco's Zouheir Elgraoui and Soufiane El Gharouti defeated Algeria's Kallouche Mohamed-Islem and Ayyoub Dekkiche 21-19, 21-12 in the men's final.
Elgraoui and El Gharouti won all seven of their matches without dropping a set.
"The match was very difficult because Algeria is a strong team. The first set was very tough, but we managed to win it at the end, and after that we were able to control the second set," Elgraoui said.
"Los Angeles will be the third Olympics that I participate in. We have been African champions over a period of 10 years, and this achievement is the result of years of hard work and effort," he added.
Earlier in the day, Nigeria's Esther Onyinye Mbah and Pamela Miyoum Bawa defeated Morocco's Alexandra Erhart and Nora Nezha Jihane Darrhar 21-18, 21-11 to claim the women's title and also secure an LA28 ticket.
The triumph gave Mbah and Bawa their first African senior title as a pair.
"We played Morocco in the group stage and lost 2-1, so meeting them again in the final showed how strong they are. We are very happy and proud that we were able to beat them this time," Mbah said.
"Resilience and trust were key to the win. We trusted each other," she added.
The championship marked the first time for Egypt to host the African beach volleyball continental event.
"It is an honor for us to organize this event for Egypt. The Alexandria Governorate provided us with great support, and the teams are very happy with Alexandria, Egypt and the organization," said Aida Ismail, a CAVB member and chair of the organizing committee. ■
