Beach soccer stars visit Dubai Sports Council

The eight Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup captains cause a stir in Dubai.

With the Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup just a day away, captains from all eight competing sides paid a visit to Dubai Sports Council HQ on Monday to demonstrate their skills as well as personally greet some of the Dubai Sports Council board members, including Deputy General Secretary Naser Al Rahma, Manager of Communications and PR Imran Aljasmi and Ali Omar, Director of the Competition.

UAE skipper Ali Karim, as well as his opposite numbers from Brazil, Egypt, Iran, Poland, Russia, Tahiti and the USA, made the short trip to the home of sport in the city to demonstrate just what can be expected when the competition kicks off on Tuesday at Dubai International Marine Club.

First up, the eight captains split into two teams and took part in a eye-catching friendly match on the fifth floor of Building 6 in Dubai’s design district.

After offering workers something of a different Monday morning experience at the office, the eight beach soccer stars then showed off their acrobatic skills by doing an entire lap of the building without letting the ball touch the floor.

Ilia Leonov (Russia), Lewie Valentine (USA), Witold Ziober (Poland), Ali Mohamed Ahmed (Egypt) and Li Fung Kuee (Tahiti) got the ball to within touching distance of a full circle before Brazil’s Bruno Xavier added the finish.

Watch the video here on our YouTube channel.

The visit served to raise excitement further ahead of the prestigious event, while also celebrating the strong relationship between the Dubai Sports Council and Beach Soccer Worldwide.

Joan Cusco, Beach Soccer Worldwide’s Executive Vice-President, said: “It was a real pleasure to visit the Dubai Sports Council in their incredible new office space ahead of a great week of beach soccer.

“We’ve always said that Dubai is an incredibly welcoming part of the world for us and, having demonstrated a glimpse of what these players can offer, we’re looking forward to the guys wowing the public on the sand once more.”

The Samsung Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup runs from November 1st to November 5th at Dubai International Marine Club, with stadium entrance completely free.

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