The Tribune

THE Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) have announced that The Bahamas will host the 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship, which is scheduled for February 20-26, 2017 in Nassau.

The Bahamas, also set to host the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, will welcome the region’s top beach soccer national teams to the Caribbean for the tournament that will crown the CONCACAF champion.

“As The Bahamas prepares to be the first Caribbean country to host the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2017, we are pleased to organise the CONCACAF championship there as well,” said CONCACAF General Secretary Philippe Moggio.

“Beach soccer holds a very special place in this nation as displayed when it hosted the Confederation’s qualifying tournament in 2013.

“We look forward to an exhilarating competition, while leveraging it as a powerful platform to strengthen the game within our region.”

The 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship will be held at the Malcolm Park Beach Soccer Facility and will include a field of sixteen teams:

Caribbean Football Union (CFU): Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands North America: Canada, Mexico, United States Central American Football Union (UNCAF): Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama

Two additional CONCACAF teams will join host Bahamas as the three CONCACAF representatives in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017.

The finalists will earn the tickets, unless host Bahamas – already qualified for the World Cup – or non-FIFA member Guadeloupe advances to the final, in which case the next-highest finisher would earn the spot.

The qualifier is also the perfect test run for the upcoming Beach Soccer World Cup that will attract thousands of visitors to the destination April 27 to May 7.

“We are very proud to welcome once again the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship,” said the Bahamas Football Association President Anton Sealey.

“The fans will have an extraordinary opportunity to see the best teams compete for the title. Bahamians have embraced beach soccer and we are confident that this tournament will help generate greater excitement and anticipation for the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.”

The official draw for the 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship will be conducted at the Intercontinental Hotel in Doral, Florida, 10am today.

The sixteen teams will be separated into pots according to the Beach Soccer World Wide Ranking. The draw will be transmitted live via the Official CONCACAF Facebook page.