PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
2013 FIFA Beach Soccer WC: Spain, Russia qualify for finals
Papeete, Tahiti (PANA) - Four-time winners Brazil will miss their first final in eight years after Spain Friday (Saturday in Africa) secured a 2-1 comeback win in extra time to reach the finals of the 2013 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Papeete, Tahiti.
The Spaniards will now meet defending champions Russia, who edged brave hosts Tahiti in the second semi-finals to go through.
Brazil, who now takes on Tahiti in the third-place match, were competing in their seventh successive FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup semi-final, having also played in five previous finals.
Spain in contrast were featuring in only their second semi-final, having done so in 2008 when they lost to Italy on penalties.
World champions Russia won through to their second successive final but only after a hugely tense comeback 5-3 win against an unlucky Tahiti.
Tahiti were aiming to become the first current Oceania nation to reach a FIFA final, while conversely Russia were seeking to retain the crown they won two years ago in Ravenna, Italy.
The match marked the first time that the reigning champions have met the host nation in a FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
The final and third-place matches will take place Saturday (Sunday in Africa) in Papeete, Tahiti.
Africa's representatives in the tournament -- African Champions Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire -- were eliminated from the group stage -- Senegal from Group C and Cote d'Ivoire from Group D.
Beach soccer became a part of the FIFA family in 2005, with the first-ever FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup taking place at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The tournament has taken place every year since its establishment in 1995, when it was originally supervised by Beach Soccer World Wide (BSWW) and was called the Beach Soccer World Championship.
Due to the sport's rapid growth, FIFA took over the organization of the competition in 2005 and rebranded it as an official FIFA tournament.
Contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport's global governing body, it became a bi-annual event after the 2009 event in Dubai. This, according to FIFA, is to allow continental tournaments to flourish without the burden of the World Cup qualifiers crowding the schedule.
The growing global popularity of beach soccer resulted in FIFA's decision to move the staging of the World Cup from Brazil, its native home, to other parts of the globe. The first edition held outside Brazil was in 2008 in Marseille, France.
-0- PANA VAO 28Sept2013
The Spaniards will now meet defending champions Russia, who edged brave hosts Tahiti in the second semi-finals to go through.
Brazil, who now takes on Tahiti in the third-place match, were competing in their seventh successive FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup semi-final, having also played in five previous finals.
Spain in contrast were featuring in only their second semi-final, having done so in 2008 when they lost to Italy on penalties.
World champions Russia won through to their second successive final but only after a hugely tense comeback 5-3 win against an unlucky Tahiti.
Tahiti were aiming to become the first current Oceania nation to reach a FIFA final, while conversely Russia were seeking to retain the crown they won two years ago in Ravenna, Italy.
The match marked the first time that the reigning champions have met the host nation in a FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
The final and third-place matches will take place Saturday (Sunday in Africa) in Papeete, Tahiti.
Africa's representatives in the tournament -- African Champions Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire -- were eliminated from the group stage -- Senegal from Group C and Cote d'Ivoire from Group D.
Beach soccer became a part of the FIFA family in 2005, with the first-ever FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup taking place at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The tournament has taken place every year since its establishment in 1995, when it was originally supervised by Beach Soccer World Wide (BSWW) and was called the Beach Soccer World Championship.
Due to the sport's rapid growth, FIFA took over the organization of the competition in 2005 and rebranded it as an official FIFA tournament.
Contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport's global governing body, it became a bi-annual event after the 2009 event in Dubai. This, according to FIFA, is to allow continental tournaments to flourish without the burden of the World Cup qualifiers crowding the schedule.
The growing global popularity of beach soccer resulted in FIFA's decision to move the staging of the World Cup from Brazil, its native home, to other parts of the globe. The first edition held outside Brazil was in 2008 in Marseille, France.
-0- PANA VAO 28Sept2013
