STORE 
MY BEACH SOCCER 
The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup hosts visited Zurich as part of their European camp.
As part of their six-week training camp in Europe, The Bahamas National Beach Soccer side took a trip to visit FIFA headquarters in Zurich on Tuesday.
World Cup hosts, aided by FIFA instructor Angelo Schirinzi, are continuing their preparations ahead of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup on home sand in 2017 with a lengthy camp in Europe, which kicked off in Linz at the weekend as they finished third in the Nations Cup.
Friendlies against some of the continent’s strongest sides are slated over the coming weeks to prepare for the showpiece event in Nassau next year and, as well as visiting the HQ of football’s governing body and meeting president Gianni Infantino, they also took time to further hone their skills on the sand.
Next year’s World Cup will be the first senior FIFA event to take place in the Caribbean and will also be the first time the Bahamas will feature at a FIFA tournament, with experienced goalkeeper Christopher Davis relishing the prospect.
Davis, something of an elder statesman within the squad, having kept goal since 2009, says he believes the team and the wider competition can provide a major boost back home.
Speaking via the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup’s Facebook page, he said of the tournament: “I don’t have any words for it, it’s something I can’t even describe.
“It’s completely amazing to be able to host an event of this magnitude in the Bahamas and to represent our community.
“Hopefully once this happens we will be able to build an even strong beach soccer culture in the Bahamas and it can always be a gateway for kids to get their education or even make it as a professional.
“But I’m very, very proud to be a part of one of the inaugural teams that helps pave the way for some of the kids coming up.
“In many aspects of our country we do need a shift of consciousness and I really think this could be the perfect thing to make that happen.”
