STORE 
MY BEACH SOCCER 
The gathering of beach soccer experts took place this morning and the enlightening presentations and discussions were enjoyed by all
Under the asupices of the Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup Dubai 2015, the leaders of the sport took part in a morning of beach soccer, discussing the past, present, and future state of the sport. All is well and the forward movement was understood by everyone in attendance. The close to four-hour activity took place at the Westin Marina in Dubai, UAE. The talks started a little after 9am, with the delegates, players, officials, and figure heads all had the chance to speak and ask questions regarding the presentation and the general state of the sport.
The attendees heard speeches about the new Laws of the Game, the effectiveness of them, the calendar for 2016 and 2017, women’s beach soccer, as well as the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017. One of the esteemed speakers was the Deputy Vice President of Beach Soccer Worldwide, Gabino Renales, and he proposed, “We need to include women’s beach soccer in the same events as the men, it just makes sense and the interest is more than evident already.” The women’s side of the sport has been growing steadily since it was initially proposed and teams such as England, Switzerland, Italy, and Portugal, just to name a few, have played in many exhibition matches before important events.
Other star presentations came from Brent Rahim, from FIFA Development, who explained the insights of the development programs around the world and the awesome results they are already providing, the Beach Soccer star Madjer, who together with BSWW Head of Competitions, Josep Ponset, who analysed the evolution of the sport with the new Laws of the Game, as they unveiled the new booklet coming from FIFA, or excellent case studies such as the one from the Italian FIGC, presented by newly appointed FIFA Committee Member Ferdinando Arcopinto, on the Women Beach Soccer evolution in Italy, or the one presented by Hungarian FA member Sándor Sáfar, on the U20 and grassroots program in the country.
Elisabeth Eastman, from FIFA and Joana Soares, Head of the Legal Department in Beach Soccer Worldwide, presented also a new tool, the beach soccer Database, which will act as an official registration for all beach soccer players and officials of the Beach Soccer Worldwide sanctioned competitions.
One of the highlights of the coming years will be the next FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, especially after the success of the last World Cup in Portugal, which was won by the hosts. The seminar this morning heard from the man who is in control of the next World Cup, the President of the Bahamas FA, Anton Sealey, stated with confidence, “Everyone is the Bahamas is preparing for this monumental event and with our paradise location and experience in high-profile tournaments, we will make the World Cup as great as it can be.” The Bahamas World Cu will be the first in the CONCACAF region and will be played in April/May of 2017.
The speaker presiding over the morning session was Joan Cusco, Beach Soccer Worldwide Executive Vice-president and FIFA Beach Soccer Committe Members present, went on to personally thank everyone in attendance, “This could not happen without all of you and it shows how important our sport is to so many people.” The advancement of the sport is due to the great fan support and of course the great product that has been put on the sand, such as the Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup, which will conclude on Saturday afternoon.
