The Intercontinental Cup draw, held today, drew UAE, Japan, Italy and Spain in Group A and Russia, Iran, Mexico and Egypt in Group B
That special time of year has come around once more, as one of beach soccer’s flagship events touches down on the Arabian Peninsula yet again.
The ninth edition of the Intercontinental Cup Dubai is set to return to Kite Beach between 5 and 9 November and hosts UAE will be joined by defending champions Iran, Egypt, Italy, Spain, AFC kings Japan, CONCACAF champs Mexico and three-times Intercontinental Cup winner Russia in this unique beach soccer showpiece.
The General Secretary of the Dubai Sports Council, HE Saeed Hareb, highlighted the importance of the event: “It is one of the excellency events in the Dubai Sports Calendar, the whole city knows about the Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup and everybody is waiting for the event to begin”.
In turn, Joan Cuscó, Beach Soccer World Wide Executive Vice-president, remembered that “although this year marks the 9th edition of the Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup, we are already celebrating the 10th anniversary of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, what showcases the strong relationship between Dubai and the sport”.
The official draw held this morning with the brilliant assistance of former Real Madrid player Míchel Salgado, had the eight teams into two groups of four:
Group A: UAE, Japan, Italy and Spain
Group B: Russia, Iran, Mexico and Egypt
The 2019 tournament will not see any debutants hit the sand in the United Arab Emirates, but it will only be a second appearance for Italy and Spain, while Russia maintain their record of being the only side, other than their Emirati hosts, to take part in every single edition.
Precisely, Russia share the record for the most Intercontinental Cups won with Brazil (3), and this 2019 edition could be the perfect opportunity for Mikhail Likhachev’s men to lift trophy number four.
However, defending champions Iran will also be keen to make the most of the absence of Gilberto’s Brazilians, as they could draw level with Brazil and Russia should they retain the Intercontinental Cup and clinch a third title this year.
A complete beach soccer week
Once the new champions are crowned on the sand, the curtain will be dropped on a remarkable 2019 season when the best players and coaches brush down their sandy feet and put on their best outfits for yet another breath-taking night under the bright lights of Dubai.
The Beach Soccer Stars returns on 9 November. The usual prizes will be up for grabs as a new set of superstars will be inaugurated into beach soccer history.
The votes of captains and coaches from each of the beach soccer national teams will decide the Best Player, Best Coach, Best Goalkeeper and the Best 5 stars. As well as these categories, the Best Women’s Player, Best Goal, Rising Star and Best Event will also be awarded, together with some other surprises…
Even before that, we will look to the future as beach soccer coaches, players and stakeholders will come together for the launch of the 2020 Beach Soccer Season. The conference will take place in Dubai as well, right before the games start on 9 November.
