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MY BEACH SOCCER 
“We are sure it will be a success. Russia has always shown excellence in the organisation of events”, said BSWW General Director, Gabino Renales
The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup – Europe Qualifier Moscow was given today an official kick-off, with the press conference held at the Luzhniki Stadium. The General Secretary of Football Union of Russia Alexander Alaev, BSWW General Director Gabino Renales, Russia head coach and Captain, Mikhail Likhachev and Anton Shkarin, and Spain star, Llorenç, sat the press conference.
General Secretary of Football Union of Russia Alexander Alaev opened the conference and explained why this qualifying tournament in Moscow is so important for Russian beach soccer and talked about Russia’s bid for hosting 2021 FIFA World Cup.
“Qualifying tournament in Europe has always been the biggest one in beach soccer, and Russia already has experience of holding it. This experience was a huge success. A few years later we turned to FIFA and BSWW with a request to hold a tournament in Moscow once again.
We have a new venue now – it is “Luzhniki” stadium. I hope that fans will enjoy it. It was quite easy to get the opportunity to hold the event, because we have good relationships with BSWW, so I am sure that everything will be organized at the highest level. I would like to thank the Russian Ministry of Sports and the government of Moscow. Thanks to their support, it all became possible. Without them it would not be possible.
It is no secret that Moscow would like to host the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2021. We must do everything we can to show so that this 2021 World Cup should be held in Moscow. We talked a lot with authorities before bidding for the World Cup and as soon as we got their approval we announced it. We need to understand that beach soccer right now is not only about money, it is a social project as well”.
In turn, General Director of BSWW Gabino Renales shared his expectations prior to the World Cup qualifying tournament that will be held in Moscow from July 19 to 27 and explained Ukrainian team’s absence in Russia.
“I would like to thank General Secretary of FUR Alexander Alaev who has been the link between BSWW and FUR since the beginning and also to the ministry of sport in Russia and to the government of Moscow. We organize events every year in Moscow. We already had this type of competition in Moscow in 2012 and I am sure this year will be even better.
The stadium is impressive, it was the venue of the 2018 FIFA World Cup final, and now we are happy to be in these facilities. Now it is a beach soccer place. We expect lots of spectators from Russia to come and support not only the Russian team but also the rest of the teams. They all will fight for the chance to be at the 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Paraguay, which is something pretty relevant, indeed”.
When asked about the Ukrainian absence, Renales said that “of course, it is not good that Ukraine is not here. It was a last moment decision from Ukrainian Football Federation and the Ukrainian Beach Soccer Federation, who officially communicated this to us. It is not my or BSWW’s position to comment on that decision“.
In line with Alaev’s words, Gabino Renales, General Director of Beach Soccer Worldwide, highlighted that, without a doubt, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2021 in Moscow can potentially be as successful as the 2018 FIFA World Cup was.
“Russia is always a big favorite in terms of hosting events in beach soccer, and the Football Union of Russia are doing such a great job in order to make that happen. I just want to ask spectators to come and support teams these days here in Moscow, to offer the best image. It will show that Russia is a great candidate. 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia was the best ever, so I’m sure Moscow and Russia could do it again with beach soccer”.
Another of the attendees to the official press conference was Spain’s and Lokomotiv Moscow star, Llorenç Gómez, who highlighted that “Spain has everything it takes to qualify for the World Cup. This season started very good for us. We are ready, we have the strength, and we have a very nice group of people. We did not qualify for the last World Cup, and that was tough for us, we want to forget about that. Of course, our goal is to get a ticket to Paraguay“.
