STORE 
MY BEACH SOCCER 
With the new venue, the list of the participating teams in the beach soccer competition has also changed
The International Federation (IF) Technical Delegate (TD) meeting for the ANOC World Beach Games Qatar 2019 concluded in Doha today after two-days of productive meetings in which the TDs were updated on the latest preparations and provided feedback on where improvements can be made.
TDs from each of the IFs participating in the Games were in attendance as the Qatar 2019 Organising Committee continues to make rapid progress since ANOC confirmed Qatar as host of the inaugural Games just over three weeks ago. The recently-established Organising Committee comprises members from both ANOC and the QOC and multi-sport Games experts.
On the first day of the meeting, delegates were welcomed by the Organising Committee and provided with an overview of the Games and an outline of Qatar’s extensive sports-hosting experience. A presentation on the proposed location and format of each of the sports was delivered with a view to gathering feedback from the TDs. The Organising Committee covered a number of operational areas including venue services, timing and scoring, accommodation, medical, anti-doping, transport, ticketing and security.
The new Qatar 2019 logo was also shown.
Changes in the beach soccer teams
Regarding the beach soccer competition, the new list of teams participating was also dealt with. With the change of the venue, first consequence is that USA are no longer the hosts, so they will need to fight for a place in the Qualifiers to be held next August in El Salvador.
Moreover, Ukraine, as well as the third best-ranked team in CONMEBOL also qualify.
In AFC, also following the Beach Soccer Worldwide Overall Rankings, three teams will also be present. Provided that Qatar, as the hosts, decided not to have their team in the competition, the best three ranked teams in the continent will automatically qualify. Namely: Iran, Japan and UAE.
Instead, Solomon Islands will be in Qatar as the Oceania Football Confederation representative. The fact that Tahiti is not an independent National Olympic Committee (they are a part of the French Olympic Committee), has got the Bilikiki the chance to be in Doha.
In the women’s competition, Switzerland, as the third-ranked team in the European Qualifiers held in Salou, earn a berth, too, joining Great Britain and Spain. Cape Verde, as the champions of the African Beach Games will represent ANOCA. The representatives from CONMEBOL, AFC and CONCACAF are still to be decided.
In the afternoon, there was a tour of the proposed sites for the ANOC World Beach Games Qatar 2019 with Katara Beach proposed as the main competition cluster. The delegates also visited the Gharafa Sports Complex which is being considered to host the remaining sports at existing venues.
On the second day, break-out workshops were held, with the TDs meeting their National Federations and Competition Managers. During the workshops, delegates discussed a number of key topics including sports equipment, field of play requirements, sport session schedules, training session formats and medical and recovery requirements. The workshops were designed to ensure that any immediate actions that are required are identified and prioritised.
ANOC Secretary General Gunilla Lindberg said:
“It has been critically important to meet with the IF Technical Delegates here to get their expert feedback on how we can hone and refine our plans. Of course, no one knows their sport better than they do and so it has been very valuable to hear where and how we can improve. It has been very encouraging to hear the Technical Delegates speak so positively about the work that has been done and the strength of the team we have here in Doha. We have complete confidence in the Organising Committee’s experience and expertise to deliver the first ever ANOC World Beach Games to the highest standards.”
The Qatar 2019 Organising Committee and ANOC will host the Chef de Mission seminar on 8-11 July with more than 100 NOCs scheduled to attend.
