The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2011 is ready for its next stop: The Qualifying tournament for the sport’s biggest festival is about to begin in the Omani venue of Al Musannah Sports City. The event, happening from February 28th to March 4th, is fielding a record participation of eleven teams, the highest so far. Together with hosts Oman, Japan, UAE, Kuwait, Iran, Indonesia, China, Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, and Uzbekistan are going to fight for the three tickets at stake for the upcoming FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2011, to take place in Ravenna (Italy) next September.
This means a significant increase in the number of participating sides, which jumps from seven in the previous Asian Qualifier to eleven in this 2011 edition, as the irrefutable confirmation that Beach Soccer is taking strong roots in the continent, with more and more teams and players blossoming every year.
Tradition is to become a heavy weapon to brandish by ever-favourites UAE, current Continental Champions at the II Asian Beach Games, Arabic powerhouse Bahrain and hosts Oman, together with the superbly competitive sides of Iran and Japan, World Cup sides in previous editions, and who find themselves in most of the pools for the tickets to Italy as well. Attention must be placed on China, too, as they offered great sensations in the past Asian Beach games, in which they reached the semifinals with balanced and solid beach soccer. After not taking part in the last Asian Qualifier, the come back stronger than ever to claim their chances to head for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
Newcomers Syria, Iraq Kuwait and Indonesia, in turn, are willing to cause a stir and make things really difficult for the favourites.
The match schedule and the group distribution will be set with the Official Draw, to be held next Thursday, February 24th, at 12:30 pm. (local time).
