Price positive of Beach Soccer Championship progress
Coach of Jamaica’s beach soccer team Andrew Price is expecting his team to progress beyond the quarter-final stage at the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Beach Soccer Championship i n Bahamas next year.
CONCACAF and Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) revealed yesterday the full schedule for the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship Bahamas 2017, to be played February 20-26.
“Last year, we came out of our group and reached the quarter-final stage for the first time. Now, the aim is to go beyond that stage and take it from there,” Price told STAR Sports yesterday.
“We will begin preparation next January. We had sent in a provisional squad of 30, that will be cut to 12 for the championship,” he informed.
Price also revealed that due to financial constraints the preparation will not be ideal.
“We know we cannot prepare as we want, but we are looking to go as deep as possible in the championship.”
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. Additionally, Barbados will replace Guatemala, which is currently prohibited by FIFA from taking part in international competition, in the tournament.
ROUND-ROBIN PLAY
The 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship will include a field of 16 teams. During the first four days of the championship, teams will compete in round-robin play in four groups of four teams each, as selected at the official draw for the competition, held in Miami in October.
The winner and runner-up from each group will advance to the quarter-finals, while the third- and fourth-place teams from each group will also participate in positioning matches over the final three match dates.
The champion and the runner-up of the competition will join host Bahamas as the three CONCACAF representatives at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017, which kicks off in April.
Jamaica is drawn in Group A alongside host Bahamas, Belize and Guyana. They will open against Belize on February 20, then face off against Guyana a day later, and complete the group stage against Bahamas on February 22.
The teams in Group B are: Mexico, Barbados, Canada and Guadeloupe; Group C: United States of America, Trinidad & Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda and the US Virgin Islands; Group D: El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama and Turks & Caicos Islands.