FIFA BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2021

FIFA BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2021

The 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer will be the 11^th 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 2^nd FIFA Beach soccer world cup title and Overall 3^rd 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 19^th to 29^th 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 18^th to 28^th March 2021. But due to COVID-19 pandemic it initially got postponed to between 28^th April to 8^th 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 23^rd to 29^th 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 23^rd to 29^th 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:

1. points obtained in all group matches;
2. goal difference in all group matches;
3. 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:

4. points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
5. goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned;
6. number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
7. 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