The Solomon Islands Bilikiki Beach Soccer squad is back training together in preparation for November’s FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Dubai 2009 and features a few new faces.
The Bilikiki side qualified for the FIFA tournament by beating Fiji, Tahiti and Vanuatu at the OFC Beach Soccer Championship in Tahiti last month.
Coach Henry Koto held a training session at DC Park in Honiara yesterday with a squad that featured new members including Futsal star Elliot Ragomo and his Kurukuru goalkeeper Paul Huia plus national goalkeeper Felix Ray Junior. The team will train at DC Park for the next two months as they prepare to make their fourth World Cup appearance.
Meanwhile, FIFA has announced that the draw for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Dubai 2009 will be held on Thursday 27 August.
The draw is scheduled to take place at the Al Habtoor Gran Beach and will determine the fixtures for the group stage of the competition, which will be played in Jumeirah beach.
In terms of qualification, 14 of the 16 teams participating in the tournament are already known: United Arab Emirates who have qualified automatically as the host country; Ivory Coast and Nigeria (African zone); Italy, Portugal, Russia Spain and Switzerland (European zone); Costa Rica and El Salvador (North, Central America and Caribbean zone); Solomon Islands (Oceania); Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay (South American zone). Two more countries representing the Asian zone will be known later.
Extensive coverage of the draw and the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Dubai 2009 will be available on the tournament’s official website, www.FIFA.com/beachsoccerworlcup
Photo courtesy of Solomon Star News