The Belarusian national beach soccer team must enter the top eight in Europe - Chairman of the BAFFA

July 15, Vitebsk /Sergey Kochetov - BELTA/. The main task for the Belarusian beach soccer team for the season is to advance from the Euroleague qualifying group and win the Euroleague promotion final, which guarantees a spot in the top eight teams of the Old World. This was stated to a BELTA correspondent by the Chairman of the Belarusian Beach Soccer Federation, Alexey Sychev.

Despite its youth (the national team was formed in May 2008), the Belarusian team has already made a name for itself at the international level with successful performances at the 2008 World Cup and in the 2009 Euroleague. Thanks to the support of the "Belarusian Football Federation" association, the national beach soccer team entered the current season early, in February, held two training camps in St. Petersburg, and participated in three international tournaments, winning two of them. Currently, the team is in good shape and faces a rather ambitious task of advancing from the group and winning the Euroleague promotion final, emphasized Alexey Sychev. The Belarusian team's opponents in the group will be the teams of France and Azerbaijan. "We have created an excellent team and have every chance to break into the top eight teams of the European continent," believes the head of the BBFF. The Euroleague games will be held on July 22-24 in Ravenna (Italy).

The "Friendship Cup" international tournament, which started today in Vitebsk, will be a general rehearsal for the Belarusian team before the Euroleague qualifying round. The team, led by head coach Eduard Demenkovets and consultant coach from Spain Ramiro Amarelle, will compete for the main prize of the tournament against the national teams of Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, Latvia, Azerbaijan, as well as two Russian teams from St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad. The games, officiated by FIFA referees from five countries, are held at the beach soccer stadium with 450 seats, located in the recreation area in the center of Vitebsk on the bank of the Vitba River.

Initially, the tournament participants will play matches in two subgroups using a round-robin system. The rivals of the Belarusian national team are the teams of Poland, Latvia, and Russia. Based on the results of the group stage, the teams that will compete for the main award of the tournament and prize-winning places on July 17 will be determined. The winner will be awarded the "Friendship Cup" and gold medals, and the prize-winners will also be awarded medals of the corresponding dignity. Teams that take fourth to eighth place will be awarded commemorative prizes. In addition, the best players of the tournament in their playing roles will be identified, as well as the fairest referee of the "Friendship Cup", who will take home valuable prizes from the organizers.-0-