Surat’s Dumas Beach to host Men’s National Beach Soccer Championship for the first time
New Delhi: The All India Football Federation’s decision to host the Men’s National Beach Soccer Championship for the first time at Dumas Beach in Surat in January-February earlier this year has proved to be a game-changer for the sport in the country. Beach soccer, which remained a marginal sport in India all these years even though FIFA has hosted 11 editions of the Beach Soccer World Cup so far, is now part of the National Games starting in Goa from October 26, 2023 .
The top seven teams of the Men’s National Beach Soccer Championship and host Goa will fight for the title with the final on November 1 at the picturesque Colva Beach in Goa. Former Indian football team captain and Arjuna Award winner Bruno Coutinho has been closely associated with beach soccer ever since he decided to retire. His skill in this five-a-side game, played barefoot on sand, is well known; Bruno was India’s coach in the pre-World Cup in 2007. “I was really surprised to see that beach soccer has been included in the National Games for the first time. Before, it was just normal soccer, but now they have included not only beach soccer, but also beach handball, so that will be interesting,” said Bruno.
He is now the coach of the host Goa team in the National Games. A star footballer during his playing days, Bruno has been pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of beach soccer. “The AIFF took the important decision to host the Beach Soccer National Championships last season and this has paved the way. Now, we can organize national championships of sports every year like Santosh Trophy, which will provide more opportunities to the players. This will only help the game move forward.”
Mulrajsingh Chudasama, Chairman of AIFF Grassroots Committee and Tournament Director of Beach Soccer, said the maiden entry of Beach Soccer at the Goa National Games was a continuation of AIFF’s successful organization of the National Championships in January-February. “I am confident that it will be a huge success. There are some challenges ahead. It is high tide time in Goa, but the organizers have done well by placing sand bags on the beach so that the FoP (field of play) is not affected. The best state teams of the country will compete there. It should be highly entertaining, Mulraj Singh said.
The eight teams have been equally divided into two groups. In Group A, national champions Kerala have been paired with Delhi, Jharkhand and Lakshadweep. National runners-up Punjab are in Group B along with Uttarakhand, Odisha and hosts Goa.
