International Football
Beach Soccer World Cup Draw Holds
The Draw Ceremony of this year’s FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup finals will hold in Nassau, capital city of The Bahamas on Tuesday.
Nigeria, which participated in the global tournament in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011, reaching the quarter finals at its last outing in Ravenna, Italy six years ago, is one of the 16 finalists at the championship billed for 27th April – 7th May 2017.
FIFA Instructor and Team Administrator of the Supersand Eagles, Mr. Sunday Okayi will represent Nigeria at Tuesday’s ceremony inside the Hotel Atlantis.
Previous FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup finals were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2005, 2006, 2007), Marseilles, France (2008), Dubai, UAE (2009), Ravenna, Italy (2011, Tahiti (2013) and Espinho, Portugal (2015). Portugal are the defending champions after defeating Tahiti 5-3 in the final two years ago.
Already, 13 of the 16 participating countries are known, following the emergence of Mexico and Panama at the CONCACAF qualifying tournament that took place in The Bahamas 20-26 February 2017. The three remaining finalists will emerge at the Asian qualifying tournament billed for 4-11 March.
Nigeria and Senegal, finalists at the CAF Beach Soccer Cup of Nations in Lagos in December 2016, will fly Africa’s flag, while Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay are coming from South America. Hosts The Bahamas qualify automatically, while Tahiti will represent the Oceanian region.
Italy, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland will be in The Bahamas for Europe. But Russia, champions in Ravenna in 2011 and Tahiti in 2013, will be missing.
The Bahamas, a nation of less than 400,000 people, is comprised of 700 islands scattered across more than 100,000 square miles of the northern area of the Atlantic Ocean, and is a leading tourist destination in the world.
