FIFA BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2021
FIFA BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2021
The 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer will be the 11th Edition of the beach soccer world cup. the premier international beach soccer championship contested by men’s national teams of the member associations of FIFA. Overall, this will be the 21st edition of a world cup in beach soccer since the establishment of the Beach Soccer World Championships which ran from 1995 to 2004 but was not governed by FIFA. This will be the sixth tournament to take place biennially; the World Cup took place annually until 2009
The last edition was held in Paraguay in 2019 where Portugal won their 2nd FIFA Beach soccer world cup title and Overall 3rd title against Italy by 6-4. Portugal are the defending champions
The Tournament is scheduled to take place in Moscow and it will start from 19th to 29th August 2021. There will be 16 Teams from the 6 confederations.
Qualification
There will be 16 Teams from the 6 confederations in which the Hosts Russia are automatically qualified.
The process of qualification to the World Cup finals will begin and ended in 2021.
AFC (Asia): – The Asian Qualifiers were originally going to be held in Thailand from 18th to 28th March 2021. But due to COVID-19 pandemic it initially got postponed to between 28th April to 8th May but were subsequently cancelled in entirely in January. So, AFC decided to handpick three teams from last edition world and also based on performances which were Japan, Oman and United Arab Emirates. The Iranian Football Federation officially contested the decision which saw their national team not chosen, but their efforts were announced as unsuccessful on 28 April.
CAF (Africa): – The African qualifiers were due to be taken place at Jinja, Uganda from 23rd to 29th November 2020 the tournament got postponed due to COVID-19 Pandemic and also rising water levels on the shores of Lake Victoria affecting the host beach, Uganda withdrew from hosting. Senegal was subsequently chosen the new hosts the Tournament was rescheduled at taking place from 23rd to 29th May 2021. Senegal and Mozambique qualified for the world cup as the African representatives and also it will be Mozambique’s debut in the beach soccer world cup for the first time.
CONCACAF (North America, Central America & Caribbean): – The North American qualifiers took place in Alajuela, Costa Rica from 17–23 May 2021. The tournament was won by El Salvador defeating the United States by 6-4. El Salvador and United States Qualified for the world cup as the CONCACAF (North America , Central and Caribbean) representatives.
CONEMBOL (South America): – The South American qualifiers took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The qualification tournament was won by Brazil. Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay qualified for the world cup as the South American representatives
OFC (Oceania): – The Oceania qualifiers were due to be taken place in Tahiti in January 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they were initially postponed to take place no later than 6 June 2021, and were subsequently cancelled entirely in May 2021. In place of the qualifiers, OFC decided to handpick Tahiti due to their Rankings and previous performances. So, Tahiti have been qualified for the world cup as the Oceania representatives
UEFA (Europe): – The European qualifiers were due to take place in Jesolo, Italy from 11–20 September 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic were postponed and subsequently rescheduled, taking place from 17–27 June 2021 in Nazaré, Portugal. Ukraine originally qualified, however, on 6 July, it was announced that the Ukrainian Association of Football had refused to sanction the participation of the team at the World Cup. It was reported that the decision was made as part of a wider sporting boycott of Russia by Ukrainian authorities due to ongoing tensions between the two states. As the next best-placed team in the qualifiers, Switzerland were chosen to replace Ukraine at the World Cup as lucky losers. So, Belarus, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland have been Qualified for the world cup as the Europe representatives.
TEAMS QUALIFIED FOR THE WORLD CUP ARE: –
AFC (Asia) – Japan, Oman, and United Arab Emirates
CAF (Africa) – Senegal and Mozambique
CONCACAF (North, Central and Caribbean America) – United States and El Salvador
CONEMBOL (South America) – Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay
OFC (Oceania) – Tahiti
UEFA (Europe) – Portugal, Spain, Belarus and Switzerland
Hosts – Russia (RFU)*
*In accordance with the ban by the World Anti-Doping Agency and a December 2020 decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the team from Russia will participate in the 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup as neutral athletes of the Russian Football Union (RFU), and will use the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee.
VENUE: –
One purpose-built venue will be used in the city of Moscow; it will be located on the grounds of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Khamovniki District, and is expected to be complete by 10 August.
RULES FOR THE BEACH SOCCER: –
Shoes are not allowed; players must play in bare feet, although ankle guards are permitted. Goal clearances (the equivalent of a goal kick) are taken by the goalkeeper using their hands to throw the ball and a goal cannot be scored directly from these.
GROUP STAGE: –
In the group stage, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, extra time shall be played (one period of three minutes) and followed, if necessary, by kicks from the penalty mark to determine the winner. Each team earns three points for a win in regulation time, two points for a win in extra time, one point for a win in a penalty shoot-out, and no points for a defeat. The top two teams of each group advance to the quarter-finals.
Tiebreakers
The rankings of teams in each group are determined as follows:
- points obtained in all group matches;
- goal difference in all group matches;
- number of goals scored in all group matches;
If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings are determined as follows:
- points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
- goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned;
- number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
- fair play points in all group matches (only one deduction could be applied to a player in a single match):
- Yellow card: −1 points;
- Indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
- Direct red card: −4 points;
- Yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;
drawing of lots by the FIFA Organizing Committee.
All times are local, MSK (UTC+3).
SCHEDULE
Group A
Russia (RFU)
Japan
Paraguay
United States
Venue: – Luzhniki Beach Soccer Stadium, Moscow
19-08-2021
16:30 – Paraguay vs Japan
20:30 – RFU vs United States
21-08-2021
16:30 – United States vs Japan
20:30 – RFU vs Paraguay
23-08-2021
16:30 – United States vs Paraguay
20:30 – Japan vs RFU
Group B
Mozambique
Spain
United Arab Emirates
Tahiti
Venue: – Luzhniki Beach Soccer Stadium, Moscow
19-08-2021
15:00 – United Arab Emirates vs Tahiti
19:00 – Mozambique vs Spain
21-08-2021
15:00 – Tahiti vs Spain
19:00 – Mozambique vs United Arab Emirates
23-08-2021
15:00 – Spain vs United Arab Emirates
19:00 – Tahiti vs Mozambique
Group C
Belarus
El Salvador
Switzerland
Brazil
Venue: – Luzhniki Beach Soccer Stadium, Moscow
20-08-2021
15:00 – Switzerland vs Brazil
19:00 – Belarus vs El Salvador
22-08-2021
15:00 – Brazil vs El Salvador
19:00 – Belarus vs Switzerland
24-08-2021
15:00 – El Salvador vs Switzerland
19:00 – Brazil vs Belarus
Group D
Portugal
Oman
Senegal
Uruguay
Venue: – Luzhniki Beach Soccer Stadium, Moscow
20-08-2021
16:30 – Senegal vs Uruguay
20:30 – Portugal vs Oman
22-08-2021
16:30 – Uruguay vs Oman
20:30 – Portugal vs Senegal
24-08-2021
16:30 – Oman vs Senegal
20:30 – Uruguay vs Portugal
Quarter-Finals
Venue: – Luzhniki Beach Soccer Stadium, Moscow
26-08-2021
15:00 – Winner of Group D vs Runner up of Group C
16:30 – Winner of Group C vs Runner u f Group D
19:00 – Winner of Group B vs Runner up of Group A
20:30 – Winner of Group A vs Runner up of Group B
Semi-Finals
Venue: – Luzhniki Beach Soccer Stadium, Moscow
28-08-2021
18:00 – Winner of QF 4 vs Winner of QF 2
19:30 – Winner of QF 3 vs Winner of QF 1
Third place Playoff
Venue: – Luzhniki Beach Soccer Stadium, Moscow
29-08-2021
18:00 – Loser of SF 1 vs Loser of SF 2
Final
Venue: – Luzhniki Beach Soccer Stadium, Moscow
29-08-2021
19:30 – Winner of SF 1 vs Winner of SF 2
MOSCOW TIME MSK (UTC+3) / INDIAN STANDARD TIME (IST)
15:00 – 17:30
16:30 – 19:00
18:00 – 20:30
19:00 – 21:30
19:30 – 22:00
20:30 – 23:30
Match timings in IST
Broadcast: –
Sony Sports Network will likely be the broadcaster for 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
ld Cup
feature Image by Trung Huynh Duc from Pixabay
