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29 March 2024

UAE handed tough group draw in beach soccer

UAE came third in the Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup. (SUPPLIED)

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By Staff

UAE have been handed a tough draw in the Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup 2013 Asian Qualifiers which will take placeat Doha’s Katara Beach from January 22-26.

The official draw was held in Doha on Thursday with the participating 13 teams divided into four groups.

The draw was conducted by Hamad Al Mannai, Tournament Director and Vice Chairman of Futsal and Beach Soccer, Qatar Football Association (QFA); Nasser Al Khater, Communications and Marketing Director for the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee; Joan Cusco, Fifa Beach Soccer CEO and Josep Ponset, Beach Soccer Worldwide’s Head of Competitions at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Thursday.

Three groups have three teams each while Group C featuring the UAE has four teams.

The UAE will open their campaign against Saudi Arabia on January 22, face Uzbekistan the next day and finally sign off the preliminary round competition against Palestine on January 24. The semi-finals will be on January 25 and the third place play-off and final will be on January 26.

As per the regulations of the competition, the first placed teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals with the two finalists and the third placed side earning a spot for the 2013 Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup to be played in Tahiti in September.

The organisers, led by Tournament Director Hamad Al Mannai are in the process of constructing a state-of-the-art, 3,000 person, temporary stadium on the shore of the Katara Beach.

The UAE has already commenced their preparations for the Asian leg of qualifiers following their participation in the Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup held at the Dubai Festival City in October-November.

The UAE came up with a creditable performance after beating Nigeria in the play-offs to clinch third place behind defending champions Russia and runners-up Brazil.

Though the UAE national squad broke off for some time to get involved with their clubs’ preparations for the ongoing UAE Beach Soccer League, they have already started training for the qualifiers at the Al Mamzar Beach Park.

In fact organisers Dubai Sports Council have decided to take a break for more than a month so as to allow the national squad to prepare for this important assignment to allow the UAE to qualify for yet another Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup.

GROUPINGS

Group A: Qatar, Oman, Australia

Group B: Japan, Bahrain, Lebanon

Group C: United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia

Group D: Iran, China, Iraq