Given the excitement brewing for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017, and the coming on stream of the 'Fan Zone', members of the Local Organizing Committee for this global event (LOC) are anticipating more than 6,000 fans on a nightly basis for the duration of the tournament.
The beach soccer world cup, the first FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) global sporting event ever to be held in the Caribbean, is now less than 30 days away, set for April 27 to May 7, at the Malcolm Park Beach Soccer Stadium.
The stadium itself houses up to 3,500 patrons and the Fan Zone which will be directly east of the Sir Sidney Poitier Bridge, adjacent to the stadium, could accommodate another 3,000. It will be outfitted with jumbotrons, and there will be food and drinks available, a merchandise store, and interactive games for the kids. Although the event is free of charge, the LOC is encouraging fans to register for tickets early online at the website http://www.fifa.com/beachsoccerworldcup/organisation/ticketing, obtain vouchers, and pick up their tickets from the stadium on game day or the day before. The portal is yet to open.
"Beach soccer is a made for TV event. The indication is that we are going to have a lot of people coming in for this event, so Bahamians are urged to get their tickets early," said Bahamas Football Association (BFA) President Anton Sealey. "It's a free event, so one of the things that you have to be aware of is that you leave, you risk giving your seat up to someone else. We have 16 of the world's top teams playing in this event, and we expect 14 days of intense competition. This is an excellent opportunity for us to showcase what makes us a popular destination in the world."
The Bahamas will play in the featured matches on three of the first five nights - Thursday April 27 against Switzerland, Saturday April 29 against Senegal and Monday May 1 against Ecuador. The quarter-finals will be held on Thursday May 4, the semis on Saturday May6, and the third place game and final on Sunday May 7, bringing the event to a close.
"This is an exciting time for the LOC, for the entire football community, for The Bahamas, and indeed for all of our global partners," said LOC Chairman Jeffrey Beckles. "We are happy to be a part of it, and we look forward to Bahamians coming out and supporting Team Bahamas. We are bringing the world to The Bahamas and we want Bahamians to experience that."
Last week, the LOC launched the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 Trophy Tour, sending the winner's trophy off to a number of islands in the archipelago of The Bahamas. It has already been to Grand Bahama, and will travel to Eleuthera, Cat Island and Abaco before returning to New Providence for the start of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017.
This week, a number of national suppliers came on board - BTC, Scotiabank and Kalik Beer. The international partners of FIFA, Coca-Cola and Kia Motors, will play an integral part in the staging of the event as well.
"We would like to recognize the fantastic work of our local partners," said Beckles. "This has been a powerful collaborative effort on behalf of the BFA, the Government of The Bahamas, CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) FIFA. We are very happy that the strength of this partnership has caused The Bahamas to be placed as the choice host destination in this region. Our thanks to all of our partners for making that possible.
"We recently held a very successful CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships which led us to this point and the team has been working diligently in preparing for this world cup experience. The transformation of the stadium is going to be resoundingly different and more exciting. Over the next 30 days, you will see the city of Nassau being transformed. You will see the pageantry on light poles and billboards and also an increased presence in the various digital platforms."
LOC member Bruce LaFleur, the architect behind the creation of the national beach soccer stadium, said that the upgrades are about 93 percent complete.
"The team is pushing along," he said. "We have good collaboration from the government, and all of the local agencies have been doing their best to ensure that everything runs smoothly for this mega event. There is just some last minute infrastructural work to be done. The intent is to put on the best world cup that the world has ever seen."
As opposed to the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships in February at the same venue, fans will enter the stadium from the Fan Zone this time. The Fan Zone is expected to present a tremendous atmosphere and experience for fans of all ages and ethnicity groups.
"The Fan Zone will be ready. There will be a lot of space for people to get involved and see the matches live on the jumbotrons, and the rhythm and the vibes will be just as strong as inside the stadium," said Beckles. "The pageantry for this world cup will be distinctly different from the qualifier (CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships). I believe that you will see the elements of the world cup and aspects of our Bahamian culture expressed in that pageantry from the Fan Zone to the actual physical stadium structure. The color and the vibrancy will be totally different. What we want to do is to make sure that the experience of the fans, our international guests, and the local and international media houses is top notch."
As for Team Bahamas, BFA President Sealey said that the guys have been working out twice per day, and are committed to give a good account of themselves on the world stage.
"I think that everyone was quite pleased with what we got from the team at CONCACAF, and that level of performance should go up a notch for this tournament because of the competition they will be going up against," said Sealey. "The guys are working very hard. Coach Soares (Head Coach Alexandre Soares) is very pleased with their attitude toward training, and once again, Bahamians will be very pleased with the performance of Team Bahamas. They have demonstrated their ability to make the The Bahamas a major player in beach soccer. This is the highest level of beach soccer that you would see in the world, and we are encouraging Bahamians to come out and support Team Bahamas and be a part of this exciting event."
Whereas the make-up of Team Bahams is expected to stay primarily the same as that of the CONCACAF Championships, Sealey said that there could be one or two more players added. The team will be named in short order, as the deadline for final entry of the roster is April 14.
The LOC is inviting Corporate Bahamas to continue to get on board with this event.
Once again, fans are asked to collect their free tickets at the Malcolm Park Beach Soccer Stadium's entrance gate on or before game days, and are asked to follow the latest updates of the tournament and track Team Bahamas' progress on social media at Facebook.com/beachsoccer2017.
The official promotional poster of the tournament was revealed yesterday, as mentioned the winner's trophy is on a tour to various islands in The Bahamas, and the official song of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 'Pure Good Vibes' has been a hit on the airwaves and on social media.
There is now less than 30 days before the start of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017.

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