January 21 – Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) announced today that it is organising India’s first professional Beach Soccer Championship in Goa next month, February 7-10.
The Goa Football Association (GFA) and the Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) are backing the officially sanctioned event which will become a bi-annual feature. The tournament will see the participation of prominent players from Goa’s popular football clubs and other prominent teams from around the country.
Mumbai-based TransStadia is investing in the event rights and managing the event to introduce and develop the sport that is already played in 75 countries within the six FIFA confederation zones.
The first tournament in Goa next month will follow the format and rules laid out BSWW.
The teams will comprise of 10 players each – five on the pitch and five as substitutes. Matches will be three periods of 12 minutes each with a break of three minutes. In case of a tie, there’s a three minute extra time before the penalty shoot-out. Prize money for the first tournament is set at Rs.2 lakh ($5,000) for the winner.
The Beach Soccer season is currently in full swing with the Copa America Beach Soccer tournament just about to finish and the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2013 Asian Qualifiers about to start in Qatar February 22-26.
CONMEBOL qualifiers take place in Merto-San Luis February 10-17.
The FiFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2013 takes place in Tahiti September 18-28.
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