From the beaches of Angola to the world stage
Who we are
Sand Stars Angola is an elite beach volleyball program built on a simple belief:
Angolan talent deserves international opportunity.
Founded by two of the country’s biggest pioneers in the sport — Morais Abreu (Olympian & African Champion) and Edson Figueiredo (African Champion) — Sand Stars gives young, dedicated athletes the structure, professionalism and international exposure needed to compete at the highest level.
How It All Started
For years, two of Angola’s greatest beach volleyball pioneers — Morais Abreu (Olympian & African Champion) and Edson Figueiredo (African Champion) — trained young athletes on the beaches of Luanda, Lobito and Namibe. The passion was there. The talent was there. But the pathway was missing.
Most young players on the beaches of Luanda without professional equipment, video analysis or exposure to international competition. Despite this, they pushed themselves, driven by a dream to compete at the highest level.
Morais and Edson saw this gap firsthand. After decades in the sport, they knew that talent alone was not enough. To truly unlock potential, athletes needed:
Professional coaching
Regular structured training
International benchmarking
Strength and conditioning
Nutrition
Competition exposure
A stable environment to grow
They decided to build something that had never existed in Angola before: a real, professional, high-performance pathway in beach volleyball.
That idea became Sand Stars Angola.
“If we combine Angolan passion and talent with international discipline and structure, we can compete with the best in the world.”
The breakthrough came during Nordic Beach Week 2025, when elite athletes and coaches from Norway and Sweden visited Angola for the first time. What happened on the sand surprised everyone.
Angolan athletes — many of whom had never trained under professional systems — challenged the Nordic teams with raw talent, creativity and determination. And under structured Nordic-style sessions, they grew rapidly.
Today, Sand Stars is Angola’s first dedicated elite beach volleyball program — built nationally, connected internationally, and driven by ambition, discipline and pride.
The program focuses on three pillars:
1. Elite Training Group
A high-performance environment for 4–6 top athletes training full-time with measurable performance goals, technical development, strength training and mental coaching.
2. World-Class Coaching
Led by Africa’s most respected names in the sport — Morais Abreu and Edson Figueiredo — supported by MAEF Beach Volley School. Their combined expertise offers something truly unique:
generations of experience meeting a new generation of talent.
3. International Exchange & Exposure
Through partnerships with Nordic and European elite programs, Sand Stars athletes train abroad, host exchange camps in Angola and gain direct exposure to professional standards of play. This is the key to bridging the gap between local talent and world-class performance.
why sand stars matters to angola
Beach volleyball is one of the fastest-growing sports in Africa, and Angola has extraordinary natural potential — miles of coastline, a strong outdoor culture, and a generation of young athletes hungry for opportunity.
But the real impact of Sand Stars goes far beyond sport:
It creates real professional careers.
For the first time, young Angolans can pursue beach volleyball as a future — not just a hobby.
It elevates national coaching capacity.
By training alongside Nordic coaches, Angolan trainers gain advanced knowledge, certification and international experience.
It builds national pride.
Every victory, every camp, every international appearance places Angolan athletes on the global stage — representing their country with excellence.
This is not charity. It is equal opportunity — unlocking talent through structure, discipline and professionalism.