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MY BEACH SOCCER 
The women’s national team of Russia brush off the sand and darn heels for the Glamour magazine party following an award nomination
Team Russia keeps on enjoying its recent success after its girls won the Women’s Euro Beach Soccer Cup in Nazaré, Portugal a matter of weeks ago. What’s more, it was the first time that the team had competed in the competition.
They have appeared on numerous TV-shows, radio stations and it seems like the media can’t get enough of the victorious ladies. And after all that, the icing on the cake was a reception at the fashion house.
The event was organised by Glamour magazine to mark the 14th annual “Woman of the Year” awards.
It turned out that the girls were among the candidates in the “Team of the Year” category. However, it is not only sports teams that will be fighting for this award, but also famous Russian TV-stars and singers. The voting will reveal a lot about the trending popularity of sports and show business.
Obviously, the event had a pretty strict dress code. The players could not show up in their football kits and bare feet. Instead, they would have to dust off their sandy feet to put on high heels, and trade their team colours for cocktail dresses. “I put on heels and a dress for only the second time in my life today. It’s tough, but I’m happy anyways’, – goalkeeper Viktoria Silina told us at the event.
Six Russian national team players and their coach Ivan Kanaev showed up to the party. The guests could not put their phones away, wanting to capture every moment, and the photographers became the most popular people there. Everybody wanted to gather memories of this glamorous party.
The girls got their moment of in the spotlight during the announcement of the nominees. “You are so delicate, but so strong!” – the celebrity TV-host Regina Todorenko commented.
All those present in the hall of the shopping mall known as “Tsvetnoy”, witnessed a special countdown to the moment when the voting was opened. But we will have to wait to see if the girls prevail, as the winners of each category will be announced in November.
After the official part of the event was over, the girls from the Russian national team had chance to let their hair down a little, and managed to get a few photos of themselves with some of their favourite celebrities.
“It all seems like a dream. It’s very cool to be here. I literally have no words. It’s amazing that the first women’s team has stepped up to this level. I hope that people will continue following our games just as the follow the men’s team’, Anna Chernyakova, Russia defender, said.
The team’s number ten, Anastasia Osinovskaya, offered some words of confidence, demonstrating the desire to win was just as strong off the sand as it was on it… “About the nomination, we will win! We will contact all our friends and make them vote. We already have an army of fans! I want to visit the same party in November but with the winners’ status!”
Defender Alexandra Samorodova also shared her take on the night and what it meant for the sport. “It’s great that beach soccer caught the wave of the World Cup in Russia and also became popular. What we saw today is simply incredible. Lots of stars and, of course, it was great to be a part of it. I would like to achieve great things in football and to become famous like Ovechkin or Dzyuba.”
The team totally deserved what they have achieved, and their desire and determination to win is visible both on and off the sand. As they accumulate victories, they are also increasing the number of fans and spreading the beach soccer love…
Congratulation to them and we wish them the best of luck for the award announcement in November!
