ZURICH, 2 February 2005 — Beach football will be run by the ruling football body FIFA from now on and have its own World Cup, with Brazil set to host the inaugural event in May, FIFA announced yesterday.
FIFA said in a statement that it will oversee the World Cup and development of the sport - which has featured the likes of Romario and Eric Cantona in recent years - with a beach football branch in Barcelona, Spain.
Up to now, FIFA had endorsed a Spanish body, Beach Soccer World Wide (BSWW), which ran the popular sport that is played in teams of five.
“Beach Soccer is an immensely attractive and exciting variation of association football. Since being introduced just over a decade ago, the sport has grown steadily in terms of popularity and sophistication,” said FIFA president Joseph Blatter.
“It is therefore absolutely logical for FIFA, the governing body of football, to extend its reach into Beach Soccer and we look forward to bringing all of the knowledge and expertise that FIFA has to improving Beach Soccer, whilst being careful to preserve the sense of spontaneity and fun that are essential to the sport,” Blatter said. FIFA said it plans to take over key BSWW staff and that it will finalise the World Cup format over the next months.
Under provisional plans the debut World Cup in 2005 will take place in Brazil with 12 teams from all six FIFA confederations. According to the BWSS website the tournament is scheduled to take place May 9-15.
BSWW runs several pro tours since 1993 with events around the world including Thailand, The United Arab Emirates and Poland. Its annual world competition, the Mundialito, will be held in Figueira da Foz, Portugal, for the 10th time this August.
