SHILLONG, Jan 10 :The All India Football Federation announced the fixtures of the inaugural Beach soccer championship set to take place in Gujarat.
The AIFF, which appears to be on a drive to develop grassroots initiatives, is taking a slew of steps to organise tournaments under the watchful eyes of its president Kalyan Chaubey.
After introducing the new-look Santosh Trophy held towards the end of 2022, the football’s governing body is eyeing the second edition of Futsal Championship.
The AIFF is trying to introduce the concept of beach soccer in the country. People with knowledge of the development said the AIFF is going ahead with a plan to expand the scope of football in a country, where cricket is the most popular sport.
The Hero National Beach Soccer Championship will be held at the Dumas Beach in Surat, Gujarat.
Speaking on the initiative, Prabhakaran said the Beach Soccer Committee of AIFF decided to formulate constitution of a sub committee to look into the logistical and operational sides.He also said 20 teams will take part in the competition to be held in Surat.
Despite the football body’s endeavour to popularise beach soccer, participants won’t be classified in the same category as regular footballers, who play tournaments like Indian Super League, I-League and Santosh Trophy.
Meghalaya is not going to send its contingent to take part in the first National Beach Soccer Championship to be held at the Dumas Beach in Surat from January 26 to February 1.
When contacted, Meghalaya Football Association (MFA) president, Larsing Ming Sawyan on Friday said that the culture of beach soccer is yet to come up in the state.
“We do not want to send a team just for the sake of participating in the tournament. At present, our primary focus is the Santosh Trophy,” Sawyan said.
According to him, there are many state football associations, which are not taking part in this inaugural event.
“But we are going to explore and plan how beach soccer can be promoted in the state,” he said.
Meanwhile, three North Eastern states including Mizoram, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh are participating in the tournament.
