Valcke says the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was a huge success with far-reaching scope and exceeded all expectations.
“This was the first senior FIFA competition ever to have been held in the Oceania region (outside of Australia and New Zealand), and it gave us the opportunity to enjoy the best of beach soccer in a beautiful environment, as well as to witness a new chapter in the sport’s young history,” Valcke says.
He says it was an event of many firsts, including the first OFC team – Tahiti – to progress to a World Cup semi-final.
“Spain, a powerhouse in the discipline, reached a Beach Soccer World Cup final for the first time and two new teams were playing in the competition for the first time – the Netherlands and Paraguay.
“But most importantly of all, Tahiti did a great job staging the tournament.”
Valcke admits that with logistics involving teams, media, fans and delegations flying in from all over the World, as well as TV distribution in over 190 countries, organising a World Cup in Papeete, Tahiti was always going to be a challenge.
“But the enthusiasm, thoroughness and professionalism displayed by the Local Organising Committee meant FIFA always felt confident in their abilities,” the FIFA General Secretary says.
“The confidence was not misplaced – from the very first moment, it was clear that the whole of Tahiti was passionate about hosting the Beach Soccer World Cup, which the locals took as their own and turned into one big party.”
He says the event became not only a showcase for the growing game, but an opportunity to promote the delights of French Polynesia to a global audience.
“Staging such a major international event put the organising abilities of the LOC to the test – a test they passed with flying colours. At the same time, they demonstrated to the world that the magic ingredients for success are teamwork and togetherness, and the passionate involvement of the whole community.
“With the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Tahiti 2013, which will no doubt be remembered as a fantastic event for many years to come, the people of Tahiti have proved to the world that they are ready to host any major sporting event and tackle any challenge.”
The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was held from 18-28 September in Papeete, Tahiti. It gathered the top 16 sides in the World, including Solomon Islands and Tahiti representing the Oceania region.
Tahiti went all the way to a semi-final encounter against Russia, who went on to win the competition, before taking powerhouses Brazil all the way to a penalty shootout in the match for third place, which they were unfortunate to lose.

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