Qatar to host Asian qualifiers for Beach Soccer World Cup

Qatar will host the Asian qualifying tournament for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup from January 22 to 26, 2013, organisers said yesterday. The event will be held at Katara Beach.The World Cup will be held in the Pacific Island nation of Tahiti from September 18-28, 2013.Beach soccer is getting popular around the world, and the qualifiers in Qatar will give a boost to the sport in the region, FIFA’s vice-president for beach soccer, Joan Cusco, told journalists at a press conference held along the sidelines of the ASPIRE4SPORT Congress which began yesterday.“Beach soccer’s popularity is increasing by leaps and bounds ever since the first World Cup was held in Rio de Janerio in 2005,” Cusco said.“Playing on the sand is fun but at the same time it requires great skill and effort,” he added.Qatar have appointed Brazilian Carlos Alberto Lisboa as the coach of the national beach soccer side. His first task will be to help Qatar qualify for the World Cup in Tahiti.“I take this opportunity as a challenge,” Lisboa said. “There is tremendous enthusiasm for beach soccer in Qatar.”Former French international Christian Karembeu, who was a member of the country’s World Cup winning team in 1998, also attended the press conference as one of FIFA’s ambassadors to promote beach soccer.“I will do all I can to promote the game,” Karembeu, who also played for Real Madrid between 1997 and 2000, winning the Champions League in 1998 and 2000.Nasser al-Khater, Qatar 2022 Supreme Organising Committee’s director of marketing and communications, said the event would help develop Qatar’s organisational capabilities.“As we build up towards Qatar 2022, it is imperative we host as many events as possible to gain as much expertise as possible,” al-Khater said.Cusco added that between 12 and 16 teams will take part in the Asian qualifers in Qatar, out of which three will make the World Cup in Tahiti.‘FIFA has sent letters to all member nations of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) about the qualifiers. We expect about 16 countries to participate.”The Beach Soccer World Cup was held every year until 2009 after the inaugural edition in Rio de Janerio in 2005.However, now it has been made a biennial affair, Italy hosting the previous edition in 2011. Brazil have won the event four times, with Russia and France winning it once each.The official emblem of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Tahiti 2013 was launched earlier this year.The symbol of the first FIFA tournament to be held in a Pacific Island nation consists of a stylised sun and waves, representing the climate and environment of beach soccer competitions in a whimsical and friendly way. The reference to the country and year where the competition takes place is referenced through a special typographic treatment. In this case the words Tahiti 2013 are arranged to evoke the traditions, music and tattoo patterns that are characteristic of the Tahitian way of life. Local elements are embedded within the wave pattern – in this case, a series of interlocking lozenge shapes, reminiscent of hand-crafted necklaces or tattoo patterns which are so characteristic of the Tahitian way of life. Reigning world champions Russia along with Spain, Ukraine and the Netherlands have qualified as European representatives, while all other confederations are yet to conclude their qualifying campaigns. Tahiti, as host nation, qualify automatically.