UAE, Brazil, Spain and Egypt in same group of Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup

Ali Omar from Dubai Sports Council picks UAE during the draw ceremony of the Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday.

Hosts UAE have been grouped with defending champions Brazil, new entrants Spain and Egypt in Group A of the Huawei Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup Dubai 2018.

Three-time champions Russia, 2013 winners Iran, Tahiti, who are 2015 and 2017 Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup runner-ups, and USA will battle it out in Group B at the state-of-the art stadium on Dubai's Kite Beach between November 6 and 10.

The official draw for the teams was held on Wednesday at the Dubai Sports Council's headquarters.

Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council, said: "We are really happy to have this competition landing again in Dubai. Beach Soccer is tightly related to a healthy lifestyle, something Dubai and the Dubai Sports Council firmly believe in. This competition has also become a national and international attraction, and this year we will have a new location on Kite Beach, by the sea. We hope that people love the new venue, and come to enjoy the spectacular matches we will be hosting."

Moreover, Hareb welcomed the eight participating teams to Dubai. "I would like to give a warm welcome to the Spanish national team, for their first participation in the competition, as well as thanking the other six teams for coming back to our home. We are looking forward to a great competition, and we wish the UAE national team the best of luck, as well."

Hareb thanked Huawei for sticking with them for the second year. "We are really happy to have Huawei back with us this year, and we thank them for their trust and support," he said. "The interest from big international companies such as Huawei is a great sign for the event, showing that the competition catches the attention of global corporations".

Joan Cusco, BSWW Executive Vice-President, praised the new venue, saying from what he heard it was 'fantastic'.

"We are going to be on the beach again, and this is where we belong, so I think that the event has made a leap forward in this sense, too."

At the draw, Cusco said, "Every year we receive more and more interest from the teams wanting to take part in the competition. It shows that this event is the interest of every team in the world.

"We would like to have the top 20 teams in the world willing to come here someday. Everybody loves this city. Lot of countries ask us if we will invite them. People around the world know Dubai is a welcoming city and this tournament has become, after the Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup, the second largest and this is thanks to DSC for pushing the project and for working with us for many years."

clareto@khaleejtimes.com