SSL Team Mozambique – On Course for the SSL Gold Cup 2026, the Football World Cup in Sailing

Mozambique enters the SSL Gold Cup qualifiers with a young, talented and ocean-rooted national team. Known as the Gala-Gala, the athletes embody the speed, resilience and harmony that define the country’s maritime identity.

Led by Olympian Deizy Nhaquile, a six-time African Champion, and experienced helmsman Bartolomeu Ernesto, with over two decades on Mozambican waters, the team brings together athletes with Olympic experience, African and National Championship titles and victories, and emerging talents with international regatta experience — forming a unified team built on diverse competitive paths and a shared performance mindset.

The team’s journey already includes major milestones for Mozambican sailing: an official SSL47 training camp in Grandson (Switzerland) — a rare achievement among developing nations — and joint training sessions with the national teams of Belgium and El Salvador, in addition to a structure composed entirely of Mozambican athletes, including two Olympians, African and National Champions and sailors with international experience. This combination of achievements strengthens the squad’s growth and competitive maturity, consolidating SSL Team Mozambique as the most structured and competitive campaign in the country’s recent sailing history.

The intensive preparation carried out between August and September 2025 enhanced the team’s technique, confidence and competitive responsiveness, reinforcing the foundation for the 2026 competitive cycle.

For the Gala-Gala, this campaign goes beyond sport: it represents youth, competence and identity — a force that blends precision, passion, discipline and Mozambique’s resilient spirit, asserting the country’s firm and undeniable presence in the international sailing arena.

In 2026, SSL Team Mozambique will compete in the joint Africa & Oceania Qualifiers, aiming to secure the country’s first-ever appearance in the 2nd Edition of the Football World Cup in Sailing — the SSL Gold Cup 2026 in Rio de Janeiro.

With discipline, vision and an identity shaped by the Indian Ocean, SSL Team Mozambique is ready to represent the nation with competence and confidence on the global sailing stage.